Shingami God of War
by Undertaker619
Summary: A legend sleeping awakes and all Sererati shall fear the Shingami who was once known as the GOD OF WAR
1. Chapter 1

The life of a Spartan warrior is not an easy one. Taken from their parents almost at birth they are taught never to surrender, never back down, and never stop fighting. The legends of Sparta's warriors are many and vast. Some legends are told with pride in the great warriors of the past; however there is one whose legend is not so much told as it is whispered, the legend of Kratos the ghost of Sparta, the slayer of gods and the man who pulled down heaven itself.

_Scene Change_

Kratos floated in an endless void of darkness he was not certain if he could even feel his body anymore.

But none of that mattered to him now, he was at peace. Zeus, Ares, Hermes, Hades, Athena and Hera, the list could have gone on but there was one thing all these being held in common. They had all fallen before him. His strength in life was peerless. The youngest and boldest captain of the Spartan army, the lion of Ares, the Sword of Athena, and finally as the God of War Kratos had fought all his life now he had peace.

His eyes closed he dreamed of his battles, his conquests, and wars. Say what you will of his tactics but the very least one could say they were affective…

"**DO YOU STILL DREAM WARRIOR?"**

The question caused the ghost of Sparta to start in surprise; he had sensed no one near him in this black void. For some reason Kratos could not open his eyes, could not even move, whoever this being was he was powerful.

Then it hit, that kind of pressure, he had felt this before in lesser degrees when he had reclaimed his powers as the god of war and had faced Zeus upon the Summit of Sacrifice.

Whoever it was that had disturbed him, it was a god. But not one that Kratos had faced before, still trying to orient himself from his long solitude he still could not open his eyes or even sense this presence that had called him.

"**A NEW BATTLE CALLS FOR YOU GHOST OF SPARTA, CAN YOU STILL FIGHT?"**

Kratos eyes snapped open fire burning in there gray almost brown depths, god or no absolutely NO ONE questioned a Spartans ability to fight, unless of course they were seeking for an audience with Hades. Before him floated a ghostly figure wearing a demon mask that had teeth extending beyond its lips. It was dressed in a white haori with a strange symbol on the back. In its hands were a string of prayer beads, in his other a long white reaping scythe with a black blade.

"I do not know you god but there is one thing you will learn of Spartans," Kratos said slowly as the Blades of exile appeared on his back. Reaching back he drew both blades as they automatically attached themselves to the chains on his wrists and forearms.

"One does not question the ability of a Spartan to fight, unless they desire an early introduction INTO the pit of Tartarus."

The being in front of him stared long and hard at the blades in his hands, and then looked back at his face with a long sibilant hiss.

"**GOOD,GOOD, IT SEEMS YOU ARE STILL THE WARRIOR, SO MUCH SO THAT YOU WOULD EVEN THRETAEN ME THE KING OF THE DEATH GODS OR SHINIGAMIL."**

Kratos tilted his head to the side his blades still in a ready position, "What is your purpose here, 'King.'"

The dark being gazed at him for a long while, "**IN THE BEGINNING YOUR PATH WAS THAT OF A WARRIOR, THEN IT CHANGED TO THAT OF A KILLER, THEN IT CHANGED AGAIN TO THAT OF AN AVENGER OF BLOOD, AND FINALLY TO THAT OF A GOD."**

Kratos lowered his blades to waist level, "I know my own history Shinigami, why do you recite what I already know, and more importantly," Kratos turned away from the dark god, "what does it have to do with me."

"**I REQUIRE YOUR AID, SPARTAN."**

Kratos looked back slowly at the Shinigami, "So many gods have required my service, and not one of them has been true to their word. Why should I aid thee, Shinigami?"

The King looked tired for some reason, "**I HAVE COME FROM A DIFFERENT WORLD YOUNG SPARTAN, YOURS HAS BEEN CONSUMED BY FIRE AND WATER, SOON NOT EVEN THIS PLACE WILL CEASE TO EXIST."**

Kratos eyes grew hard, death was one thing, but to be utterly forgotten, erased as it were from history itself, unthinkable, unacceptable especially to a Spartan.

"**HOWEVER I AM ABLE TO OFFER YOU A CHANCE TO BECOME ONE OF MY CHILDREN, NOT IN THE LITTERAL SENSE OF COURSE BUT YOU WILL BECOME LIKE ME, A DEATH GOD."**

Kratos considered this for a moment, to become a god again would be an interesting experience, a death god no less.

"What exactly would be my duties," Kratos questioned?

If it were possible to smile in that mask the Shinigami King probably would have done it.

"**MANY AND VARIED, BUT THERE ONE DUTY ALL MY CHILDREN HAVE THAT I BELIEVE YOU WILL ENJOY SPARTAN. FOR ALL MY CHILDREN ARE TRAINED WARRIORS WITH WEAPONS SUCH AS THE ONES YOU WIELDED AGAINST THE GODS OF OLYMPUS."**

That, of everything this Shinigami had said thus far, caught Kratos attention.

"**THE REASON THEY ARE TRAINED THUS IS SO THAT THEY MAY BETTER FIGHT OFF THE WICKED SPIRITS THAT INFEST MY WORLD, BEINGS KNOWN AS HOLLOWS."**

Kratos turned and faced the King again as he continued, "**THESE BEINGS ARE AS SAVAGE AS THEY ARE MINDLESS, THERE FOOD IS THE ENERGY GIVEN OFF BY PURE SOULS CALLED PLUS WHO HAVE RECENTLY DIED. ALTHOUGH THEY ARE NOT LIMITED TO THE SOULS OF THE PURE, THEY ARE KNOWN TO EVEN CONSUME EACH OTHER."**

Kratos grimaced, "hmm, can anything so mindless even represent a true challenge."

"**DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THEM MY SON, FOR THERE POWERS ARE BASED ON MERELY A PERVERTED VERSION OF MY OWN. ALSO THEY DO NOT RETAIN THE SHAPE OF MERE MEN KRATOS," **Kratos tilted his head to one side, "**THEY BECOME MONSTROUS IN FORM AS WELL, THE FORM IS BASED UPON THE SIN THEY COMMITED IN LIFE TO DRIVE THEM TO BECOME A HOLLOW."**

"How does the warrior recognize these hollows," Kratos asked? He was actually considering this proposal. After all, after a life time spent in battle an eternity in this endless void had begun to grate upon his nerves. Kratos was fairly certain he was losing his mind after the first hundred or so years of silence. The simplest reason was that he was who he was, a Spartan, above all, a warrior. But what good was a warrior when he has nothing to fight? What good was an army without an enemy to battle?

"**IT IS SIMPLE TO RECOGNIZE, EACH HOLLOW HAS A WHITE MASK UPON ITS FACE CALLED A DEATH MASK, DESTROY THE MASK AND THE FACE BEYOND IT AND IT WILL DIE."**

Kratos thought for a few minutes, "…tell me how many of these hollows are there in this world."

The Shinigami King grinned again, "**TENS OF THOUSANDS AND MORE BORN EVERY DAY."**

Kratos grinned, "Tell me about this Sererati."

****

I HAVE WANTED TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS FOR A WHILEBUT I NEVER REALLY GOT THE OPPURTUNITY. I MEAN MY COMPUTER AT HOME SUCKS AND THAT FORCES ME TO USE THE ONES AT SCHOOL.

ANYWAY I KNOW PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WANTING ME TO UPDATE MY UNDERTAKER STORY FOR A WHILE. BUT I MUST CONFESS THAT IT'S BEEN BUGGING ME FOR A WHILE. I HAVE BEEN THINKING OF REVAMPING THE ENTIRE STORY WITH A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT ANGLE BUT I AM NOT DECIDED ON THAT YET. I MIGHT CONTINUE I MIGHT NOT ITS STILL UP IN THE AIR.

WEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL HAVE FUN KIDS AND DON'T FORGET TO…

**REST…IN…PEACE…..**


	2. Chapter 2

When a Spartan warrior fights he enjoys it…OF COURSE IT IS A GIVEN THAT HE IS FACING SOME KIND OF DECENT OPPONENT…of course…so why couldn't he find a decent challenge in this Olympus damned place. Kratos the ghost of Sparta had been wandering this god-forsaken Rugonkai for nearly a day and he had yet to come across a single soul that did not run from him on sight.

"Pathetic," he murmured under his breath. '_If this is the best this Soul king can offer I might have chosen the void.'_

Kratos glanced up at the sky, it was getting late and he had yet to find a shelter that was broken, run down or occupied. But it wouldn't matter, after all he was a Spartan and Spartans were taught to survive under the harshest of circumstances.

Kratos walked through the forest and chose a small clearing next to a stream for his campsite. After building a fire he watched the flames crackle and was drawn back into memories of his past. Small comfort there, indeed, all he remembered was represented by that small fire that kept him warm.

Kratos was not so reticent that he failed to notice the small twig snap over twenty yards away. Shifting a gauntleted hand to his other side he raised his arm that held the Golden Fleece up to his knee. Another snap, _whoever this is he is not very good at being sneaky _Kratos thought.

Kratos had fought under the moon before and it more than likely will not be the last time.

'**Indeed, little Spartan, it will not be the last time,'** Kratos gave an involuntary jolt as a hated voice came back to him in his head.

"Ares," he whispered.

'**Of course little Spartan, did you think I was perhaps Athena or maybe Zeus…heh fool,**' Ares voice whispered mockingly.

"Show yourself coward," Kratos said.

'**I would little Spartan however I am trapped in the blades you wield," **Ares voice instead of sounding scornful with the mocking ring it was known for, sounded resigned almost sullen.

'**Peace my son, we should be considered fortunate to be here at all, I am certain oblivion would have served you better but not I,"** another voice came.

This voice was deeper more powerful than that of Ares and seemed to carry the greater weight in authority.

"What madness is this," Kratos wondered out loud, "why…am I hearing the voices of ghost, first Ares and now you _father_."

'**Ah forgive me my son, I simply could not stand Ares complaining every fifteen seconds,' **Zeus the voice of his father who had loved his mother, attempted to kill him, and whom he had defeated at the final battle on the edge of the sea of devastation.

'**He is confused father, he did not expect us to materialize as his Soul Slayers,' **a final voice he knew all too well.

"Athena," Kratos honestly did not know what to say. After all what do you say to two of your biggest enemies, one of whom is your father, and the goddess that was your former patron?

".."

"…"

"…"

'**Before you get all teary eyed at seeing us again you might want to consider killing the fool who is trying to sneak up on us,' **Ares grated.

Kratos turned his senses back to the fool and caught his blade on the edge of the Golden Fleece.

"What the hell…AAARRRGGGHHH," the fool barely had time to scream before Kratos eviscerated him from the chest on up the blade cauterizing the burning flesh. Kratos stared down at the blade of chaos on his arm. The blades still had the fiery circle above the hilt and the jagged edge, and the curved hook before the blade that was used to hook onto an enemy or swing from a ledge.

"In truth I never expected to see you again old friend," he said staring down at the old familiar weapons.

'**Now you're flattering me,'** Ares said with a chuckle, '**after all I am only the first stage of your blades what these Shingami's call a permanent released form.'**

"Hmm, it seems that out in this waste land all I will find is the trash, on the other hand," Kratos grinned to himself, "a Spartan must keep in practice."

'**Now you're talking,' **Kratos could hear the grin on Ares face.

'**Humph, brutes,'** came Athena's proud voice. Kratos could almost see her turning her noise up at them both.

'**Shut up sis, and let the boys have their fun,' **Ares laughed.

'**Calmly my children, Kratos my son raise your head there are more of them, **Zeus rumbled in the background his voice sounding like thunder.

Suddenly the clearing was filled with brutish looking men all wearing ugly sneers and carrying swords.

"Hey boys, looks like this one can actually fight, he killed Manki."

"Yeah let's get him."

"He don't look so tough."

"**Foolish children do they realize whom they accost, my son I know I no longer have any right to command you but I conjure to destroy these fools who think they can molest us,' **Zeus's command was unnecessary.

Kratos could only smile at their folly, "If you think I am easy prey," he said drawing the other blade from his shoulder, "then allow me to disillusion you."

"What was that get em boys!"

Uttering a war cry the gang charged at the white skinned warrior.

That night blood rained in the eightieth district of Rugonkai as never before. Not even in the rampages of the famed Zaraki Kenpachi had there been blood fall such as this.

****

"Uh, lieutenant, I think you had better look at this," an operator at a computer sat dumbfounded as he stared at the screen.

This wasn't possible, it just wasn't, how could three hundred souls suddenly vanish from the 80th district so quickly.

"What is it…whoa…are you sure your computer is working right?"

"Of course, but this still shouldn't be happening should it I mean the only thing that could wipe that many souls is a hollow of at least a Menos category."

"That's true but there has been no hollow reiatsu detected in that area…has there?"

The two glanced over at the reiatsu operator…to find him fast asleep. Sweat drops all around, "yo, Tanto-san it's the captain."

"WAAAGHH, Taichou I-I-I eh…uh," said reiatsu operator was suddenly jerked from his peaceful slumber into a saluting position. Then glared at the two grinning faces of his comrades, "that's not funny; seriously if the captain found me sleeping on the job he'd have my badge so WHAT THE HELL YOU WAKE ME FOR."

"Do a quick scan of the 80th would ya we think there some kind of hollow out that way."

"Uh sure," the technician sat down again, and tapped at his keyboard.

Suddenly his eyes got big, very big, "Uh u-u-hh, guys,"

"What is it a hollow?"

"Are there any Captains in the 80th district at the moment?"

The Lieutenant thought for a moment, "um not that I can recall, why."

"Because I am getting a massive reiatsu reading, dear heaven this thing is huge."

The lieutenant, rushed over took one look at the screen and slapped the emergency button.

Sirens began to go off and technicians began filling the room. The captain was there in a few moments.

"What is the situation," he grimaced when he saw nearly all of his technicians gathered around the reiatsu sensor station.

"Captain you had better take a look at this," the lieutenant said a mixture of fear and awe in his voice.

The captain began wondering what could have his lieutenant so riled. However taking one look at the screen he could see why.

"By Soul Society that things massive," the captain whispered.

The captain's face remained stunned for only a few moments, "Get on the line with the Gotei 13 they must know about this."

****

A red dawn rose over the 80th district, in a bloody field, on top off a near mountain of bodies sat the man who had been the God of war.

'**Kratos,' **the ghost of Sparta stirred as the voice of Athena floated to him, '**we should go. The Soul Society cannot fail to notice us now. Also we might want to consider hiding our power for the moment as well.'**

'**Athena speaks wisely my son, **Zeus rumbled, '**after a night such as this the entirety of this heaven should be in an uproar.'**

'**Yeah lets beat it, there's nothing strong left here,** Ares cackled.

Kratos rose placing his blades upon his back drawing a remarkably unbloodied cloak from one of the dead bodies he set off towards the horizon.

****

SO WHAT DO YA THINK, REVIEW PLEASE, FLAMERS WILL _DIE_,

ABOUT KRATOS'S ZANPOKTOU I KNOW NOBODFY WAS EXPECTING THIS BUT DON'T WORRY ITS GOING TO GET BETTER AS I GO BELIEVE ME.

NOW I KNOW SOME WILL WANT THIS STORY TO HAVE A ROMANTIC ANGLE

WELL RIDDLE ME THIS DOES ANYONE SEE APHRODITE DIE IN THE THIRD GAME?

HMMMMMMMMMMMMM


	3. Chapter 3

Sometimes there are certain events in life that are past description, words simply fail to describe a scene or language cannot go far enough in its description. This was the feeling that came upon the Special Forces unit that came upon a sight that none of them would ever forget.

_Flashback_

"This meeting will come to order," a tap of a cane is heard in the captains meeting hall as the Commander-General of Soul Society Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai took his place at the head of the captains.

All of the captains present were surprised to see three other men kneeling in the back of the room near the door.

"Sotaichou, may I ask what the communications head is doing here, Captain Meetings are to be kept strictly confidential?"

The question came from the dark skinned captain of the 9th division Kaname Tousen.

"His report is the main subject of today's meeting Tousen, it is allowed. Now proceed."

The middle man of the three nodded, a holographic image of the 80th district appeared in the center of the room as the lights dimmed, "Hai Sotaichou, last night at around thirteen hundred hours my men detected an unusual drop in spiritual pressure in one of the forested areas of the 80th district in Rugonkai."

"Heh, probably a big fight went down between gangs, happens all the time," commented the large spiky haired Captain of the 11th division Zaraki Kenpahi. "What's so special about that?"

"How bothersome! To be called away from my research for something so trivial," this comment came from the rather odd faced captain of the 12th division Kurostuchi Mayuri.

"Quiet," Yamamoto commanded, "continue."

"Hai, as the first initial drop was reported, at the same time a massive spiritual pressure made itself known. While this spiritual pressure was active the spiritual pressure in the entire district began to drop."

The captains turned their heads at that. The entire district?

"Then we began to notice other spiritual pressures began simply disappearing it was as if something or someone was systematically exterminating the entire district. At the end when the pressure finally diminished we calculated that the spiritual pressures of at least 957 souls had vanished."

The room was deathly silent, 957 souls killed by one spiritual pressure? Impossible.

"…"

"…"

"Impossible," said Soi Fon Captain of the second division, "it would take a captain class shinigami to kill that many soul in one night, and even then it would take full control of his Zanpaktou to systematically butcher that many souls."

"Well now 957 souls, that'd take way to much effort," said the lazy 8th squad captain Shunsui Kyoraku, although there was a serious glint to his usually lazy good natured eyes.

"Communications officer are you sure this was the work of a single spiritual pressure," the question came from the fifth squad captain Sosuke Aizen.

"Of course Taichou, I told my men to triple check their findings and their equipment all the data came back positive this was the work of a single soul."

"Captain Mayuri, can you theorize how such a powerful soul has escaped our notice until now."

"Hmm, well without further data I cannot give any definite hypothesis, however this does seem to be an extremely violent soul," Mayuri grinned that scary look he was known for, "I find myself intrigued."

The conversation was interrupted as the door to the captains meeting hall was thrown open. All eyes were drawn to the messenger that had instantly dropped to one knee.

"What is the meaning of this?" The large captain of the 7th division growled.

"P-Pardon me Sotaichou, but a report came over from the communications division, it would seem that the spiritual pressure drop in the 80th district has halted."

Yamamoto slowly opened his brown eyes, "what of the large spiritual pressure."

"When we last had track of it, it was moving."

"What do you mean 'last had track of it' have we lost it," the captain of the communications division nearly shouted at the messenger. The messenger cringed, "I'm sorry taichou, we did not know what had happened, one moment it was there moving at a steady pace, then it simply decreased and nearly vanished."

The captain of the communications growled in his throat, "in what direction was it last heading."

The messenger gulped, "it was heading directly on a collision course for the Northern gate of Soul Society."

A profound stillness settled over the captain's hall.

"Well now it looks like we have something of a monster on the loose," came the ever calm reply of the 6th squad captain Byakuya Kuchiki.

"Communications Chief," the Sotaichou said slowly bringing all attention back into focus, "exactly how strong was this spiritual pressure at its peak?"

The Communications Chief took a long slow breath.

"It fluctuated at various times but at its peak almost as strong as you Sotaichou."

?

"Impossible, no Shinigami has ever generated Spiritual pressure at that level after being brought here, besides this there has been no report from the human world of any Captain or foot soldier performing a Soul Konso with that high of a pressure," objected the 3rd Division captain Gin Ichimaru.

This statement sent many heads nodding, while all captains present abhorred paperwork, anyone would have noticed a report of a soul with that kind of power.

"Sotaichou," Unohana Retsu the 4th division broke the silence, "I wish to take my division and search for survivors in the 80th district. We have a duty to those people after all."

"Until we know more of the situation that would be too risky," the old general replied although he understood her desire perfectly.

Unohana Retsu had the gentlest soul among them all; some even described her as an angel of mercy. In his entire acquaintance with the 4th squad captain he had only seen her get angry once. It was not pretty. As Unohana's face fell Yamamoto continued, "Therefore Soi Fon you are ordered to take the Special Forces squads and scout the 80th district of Rugonkai and report back at the earliest moment when the 4th may join you. Go"

"Hai," the 2nd Captain Flash stepped out of the meeting hall. Unohana nodded gratefully at the Commander. Yamamoto turned his eyes back to the rest of his captains.

"The rest of you keep your divisions on high alert, we do not know what this Ryoka will do, and you will receive updates as necessary, but above all keep your forces ready to move."

"Hai Sotaichou," was the general response.

The old general glanced around at the determined faces of his captains secretly glad of their readiness and confidence. It never failed to warm his old heart to see his men ready to fight for the Seireitei.

"Dismissed"

****

_Flashback end_

The stupefied squad of Special Forces looked at the scene that stretched before them. The sight alone was enough to make some of them think about losing their lunch.

"Get back to Soi Fon-taichou," the leader said in a halting voice, "she needs to see this."

"Hai."

****

Many Captains were surprised when Soi Fon sent back an urgent message requesting three additional captains with their lieutenants along with the entire 4th division.

In his office overlooking much of Soul Society Yamamato stared for some time at the request wondering what could have prompted Soi Fon to request such backup. Young Soi Fon maybe but she was an exceptionally proud and cold woman who disdained asking for assistance and had been known to cut down her own squad members if they got in her way. This was a new departure for the young 2nd squad captain; Yamamoto began to realize that something awful must have happened in the 80th district but to warrant three captains along with the _entire _4th division. Yamamoto's eyes narrowed, _'something else must have happened here that we are unaware of.' _

Coming to his decision he rose from his chair and gathered his walking staff which actually hid his Katana Ryuujin Jaka, turning he called his lieutenant, "Sasakibe."

"Hai, Sotaichou."

"Take a message to the 10th, 9th, and 4th division captains and their lieutenants to meet me at the north gate with all possible speed. Tell Unohana-taichou to have her entire division prepared for casualties. Make haste."

Notwithstanding his surprise the old lieutenant merely bent in a quick bow and shunpoed to his task.

_At the Northern Gate_

"Kaname-Taichou has this ever happened before, the Sotaichou going out for something like this," asked Shuhei Hisagi the Lieutenant of the 9th Division?

"Not that I can remember," His captain answered, "however it is apparent from our last meeting that something has happened in the 80th that cannot be ignored. It is unknown what this emergency will be so keep your guard up Hisagi."

"Hai," Hisagi nodded and glanced around. The fourth division was waiting in picture perfect lines awaiting the arrival of their Commander-General. Hitsugaya-taichou was waiting with his fuko-taichou Matsumoto Rangiku who was pestering him about some absurd question about getting out of this mission. To the said captains severe annoyance if the tick marks above his head was any indication.

Hisagi's captain on the other hand found his thoughts drawn back to the note that had him and his lieutenant awaiting the arrival of the Commander. It was unlike Soi Fon to ask for any sort of aid from any captain or even her lieutenant. So the question became what could frighten her so badly that she sent for reinforcement's specifically three captains and the entire 4th division. His sightless eyes narrowed beneath his visor, could this be some sort of trap, was there some kind of uprising going on. Were they walking into some kind of peasant civil war? It would explain the massive drop in…

His thoughts were cut off when his old friend the 7th division captain along with the Sotaichou Shunpoed into the area.

"Tosen," the greeting rumbled from inside that absurd helmet his friend insisted on wearing.

"Komamaru, what are you doing here I did not remember you being assigned to accompany us."

"As if I would allow you to walk into potential danger without me old friend."

Tosen smiled "I am glad my friend."

"Attention," the tap of the Captain-Commanders cane brought all attention back to him.

"We are heading to the 80th division of Rugonkai, it is known to be a particularly harsh district so do not let your guard down, we are acting as backup for the second division in scouting the area and determining what has occurred in the District."

The Sotaichou walked to the gate where the giant Jidanbo waited. Nodding to the giant the gate was opened.

"Go"

All present vanished into Shunpo.

****

Soi Fon waited in a small house she and her squad had commandeered to serve as there make shift headquarters. When she had first seen the horror of what had taken place not five miles from where she stood she had to stop to repress a shudder. Heaven, she thought, have mercy on their souls for whoever had did this had not.

It had been at least eight hours since she had sent in her request for backup and that alone had been galling to do.

A messenger appeared in front of her, "the area of the incident has been secured taichou."

Soi Fon nodded, "good. Inform me the instant the others arrive."

"No need Soi Fon," a reply came from the door. Soi Fon glanced up and gave a small start as the Sotaichou walked into the room followed by Sajin Komamura, Tosen, Hitsugaya Toshiro and Unohana Retsu.

"Sotaichou, I did not expect to see you here," Soi Fon said giving a quick bow.

"Hmm, I am not so old that I cannot take a walk with you youngins every once in a while," Yamamoto replied.

All the Captains present smiled slightly, it was a rare thing to be able to see their Commander-General in action or even leaving Seireitei for that matter. All the captains present did have an undivided attachment to the old general; he was a symbol of power the consummate warrior and leader.

"Soi Fon, what is the situation here," Tosen asked?

Soi Fon looked pensive for a moment, "Follow me."

****

At the edge of a forest was where it began. It was a literal carpet of bodies one could not walk without tripping over a mutilated corpse. All of the bodies on the ground had weapons in their hands; some were seemingly cut down before they even had a chance to draw their weapons. Some were hacked in half with their heads smashed into the ground. The stench of blood was everywhere. All in all it looked as if a hurricane made of blades and raw power had decimated nearly the entire male populace of the 80th. More than one lieutenant lost control of their stomachs on the way. All the captains' faces were grim for it seemed to them that when they had seen enough they came upon an even more horrifying sight.

It was a grisly walk through the forest bodies pinned to trees by their own weapons heads split in half, some burned as their top half was cut in two and cooked on the inside, but even more horror waited in the village at the center of the forest. It was a small one, no more than a bandits hideout, but when the captains left the trees the entire party came to a halt.

No one could believe the sight in front of them. The village, what was left of it, had corpses lying all over the place, killed in the most grotesque fashions.

"T-Taichou, w-w-what am I looking a-at," Kotetsu Isane the lieutenant of the 4th division whispered in a hushed almost scared tone of voice.

Instead of Unohana the Sotaichou answered her, "it's a killing field."

"Monstrous," Komamura growled.

For almost five minutes the entire party stood motionless. Piles of corpses were messily tossed about with carless abandon; some seemed to be at the epicenter of some kind of explosion. The quiet in the forest seemed to be deafening.

"Very monster like this Ryoka," the Sotaichou said, "although these souls appear to have been able to defend themselves."

That was true weapons were lying about randomly, some in the death grip of some smashed corpses hand.

'SNAP'

The small sound of a twig breaking was enough to break the stunned silence, instantly all hands were on weapons some even half drawn.

"Wait" was the simple command from the Sotaichou and all hands relaxed.

The small sounds of someone walking were coming from the opposite side of the village. The shinigami tensed, waiting for whatever it was to show itself.

What walked out of the trees however was the last thing any of the Soul Reapers present expected.

A small boy with a shovel dragging on the ground behind him straggled out of the forest. He was garbed in dirty trousers and wore a worn and filthy vest. His feet were bare and dirty, his face smudged as if he had been digging around in the dirt.

"A…A child?"

The stunned response came from Hisagi.

"Hush, we do not want to frighten a potential witness" Retsu said.

The boy walked to the center of the village looking around with a blank despondent stare.

He shook his head sinking to his knees, "How troublesome, more dead for me to bury?"

That simple little question struck the hearts of all present.

'_More…child what paths have you walked_,' was the thought of Tosen.

'_A child burying the dead? How lax we have become,' _was the thought of the helmeted captain.

'_Such a small child to look upon such horrors,' _was the pitying thought of the 4th division captain.

'_Boy what have you seen,' _was the thought of Hitsugaya Toshiro

Yamamato slowly walked forward until he was in front of the child, who merely looked up and stared for a long while. The two stared at each for a long time for those watching. The boy got up slowly looked the old commander up and down.

"Oh, a live one. I don't know what to do with a live one? Should I bury you too?"

The boy crumpled and would have fallen to the ground in pure exhaustion had Yamamato not caught him.

"Unhonana-taichou," the commander's voice snapped the daze that the Shinigami had fallen into.

"Hai," she replied appearing by his side.

"Take the little one away from here, he has seen enough," the Commanders voice was soft.

"Of course," she replied taking him in her arms.

"**So he has already begun has he**?"

The captains and there lieutenants this time could not restrain the impulse and drew their swords on the voice. The voice was musical to the ear and soft but not soft enough for it to hide were it was located.

However no matter how hard one looked you could not see a thing amidst the trees where the voice originated. The captains extended their senses and came up with something odd. Something was indeed there but their eyes just couldn't see it. Tosen sent a light wave of Reiatsu at were the voice should have been and it took all of his composure not to faint with a massive nosebleed.

Standing there with a slight distortion about her was a completely nude woman; well not completely there was a light pink scarf that extended across her shoulder down to her well formed waist and hips just barely covering her modesty. This might not have been enough to nearly cause him to faint except for the fact that she had to be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her flawless brown skin stretched over perfect muscles which indicated that she kept herself in shape. Her chest had to have been as big as the 10th squad's lieutenant. A beautiful heart shaped face, whose smile would melt even the coldest heart, seemed to glisten in the sunlight.

"Who are you," he was barely able to ask?

"Tosen what do you see," barked Komamura. The fox captain could smell something in the direction his friend was looking. A very sweet smell, the kind normally associated with a woman's perfume. It smelled like mountain roses and lilacs.

To even Unohana's trained eye she could not see were the strange voice had come from.

To someone as old and experienced as the Commander however such a thing as sensing someone came as second nature to him.

"Impressive," the old general stated, "to be able to mask your presence for so long."

The Lieutenants heard the voice but were unable to see anything which was rather disconcerting. Had the situation been less serious it would have been a rather a comical sight to see the Commander General talking to empty space.

A musical laugh drew their attention back to the spot where the air seemed to shimmer.

"Compliments will get you everywhere with me, and I do have a soft spot for older men," the voice seemed to giggle when it spoke.

"Who are you," the question was not a request and everyone present understood that perfectly?

"Well I have had many names over the centuries," the musical voice continued, "but you may call me…"

****

NOW I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE ALL THINKING BUT I DO HAVE TO KEEP UP A HIGH REPUTATION FOR SUSPENSE. I ALWAYS HATED IT WHEN WRITERS DID THAT BUT THIS IS CONSIDERED PAYBACK. SO SCREW ALL Y'AL. NOT REALLY BUT SERIOUSLY I THINK EVERYBODY CAN GUESS WHO THIS IS BUT IF YOU CAN'T WELL GO WATCH GOD OF WAR 3 AND YOU'LL FIGURE IT OUT.

PEACE PEOPLE…

STORY WE'LL BE HOPEFULLY BETA'ED SOON.


	4. Chapter 4

_A month later_

Seireitei… Its outer walls were truly a magnificent sight to behold, at the approach of any unauthorized soul the walls would shoot from the ground and stand as an impenetrable barrier to hollow or ryoka. The gates could only be opened by one of the absurdly large guardians who stood almost twenty feet tall. The gates stood as strong as the walls, the guardians of its gates were powerful and had not suffered a breach in over 300 years.

'_Far too long,_' Kratos thought as he surveyed the monolithic structure in front of him.

_Flashback_

"**THE SEIREITEI IS WHERE MY SONS TRAIN AND RECEIVE THEIR ORDERS. IT IS DIVIDED INTO 13 DIVISIONS; THE FIRST SQUAD'S CAPTAIN IS THE STRONGEST OF MY SONS…."**

Kratos nodded in understanding as the King told him of the divisions and their respective captains.

"**YOU WILL BE TRANSPORTED TO THE OUTSKIRTS OF A PLACE CALLED RUGONKAI, WHERE THE NORMAL SOULS LIVE. BECAUSE OF YOUR UNUSUALLY LARGE REIATSU OUTPUT, YOU WILL ALMOST IMMEDIATELY BE NOTICED…**

Kratos absorbed the information and sat staring at the portal that would take him to this new world. He had a feeling that the king had more to say.

"…**HOWEVER…"**

Kratos looked up again.

"…**THERE IS A TASK I WOULD LIKE YOU TO PERFORM BEFORE YOU REACH THE SOUL SOCIETY…."**

"Yes… go on?"

"**MY SONS HAVE DONE SOMETHING EXCEPTIONALLY FOOLISH. IN THE NORMAL PLANE THERE WAS A TRIBE OF ORDINARY HUMANS KNOWN AS QUINCY. THESE HUMANS HAD THE ABILITY TO SEE AND DETECT HOLLOWS. THEY DEVISED THEIR OWN METHODS TO ELIMINATING THE CREATURES. HOWEVER, IN TIME DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN MY SONS AND THE QUINCY LED MY SONS INTO COMMITING A CRIME AGAINST THEM THAT I CAN NO LONGER OVERLOOK."**

Kratos looked up at the old being; he seemed to be embarrassed, of course admitting your children had done something foolish was not easy when confessing to a third party.

"**THE RULING COUNCIL IN THE SEIREITEI DECREED THEIR DESTRUCTION."**

Kratos snorted, '_foolish indeed,'_ he thought. To destroy something you don't understand. After all, he did not fully understand half the weapons he himself wielded or their full mechanics; however, he did not fear them, for to go into a battle with fear in your heart was to already have lost half of it.

"**I REQUEST THAT YOU BREAK THE PRIDE OF MY SONS, AS IT WAS THEIR PRIDE IN BEING THE REAPERS OF SOULS THAT LED THEM TO THIS SIN."**

Kratos nodded thoughtfully, "how should I do this?"

"**SEIREITEI IS A MASSIVE MONOLITHIC STRUCTURE, ERGO THEY CANNOT RESPOND TO SUDDEN AND LIGHTNING SWIFT ATTACKS; I ASSUME YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO."**

Kratos outwardly maintained his composure but inwardly grinned: if there was one thing he enjoyed, it was a challenge.

"**HOWEVER, FOR MY SAKE, SPARE THE YOUNGER OF MY SHINIGAMI, FOR THEY HAD LITTLE TO DO WITH THE CRIME OF THEIR FORBEARERS."**

Kratos nodded - while his methods were brutal and got results, he would control himself to a greater degree than usual; after all, he had to become one of them, did he not? He would avoid killing any of the captains or vice-captains… for the moment, at any rate.

"**THERE IS ONE LAST THING YOU SHOULD KNOW…"** Kratos turned and looked one last time at the king "**…ONE OR MORE OF MY SONS ARE PLANNING TO BETRAY ME…"**

_Flashback end_

Yamamato sat in his office, pondering the reports of the 4th and the 2nd division. A soul born with a Zanpakuto chained to its arms with the ability to shift into different forms, most definitely unheard off. Mayuri was salivating at the thought of a completely new kind of Zanpakuto. The rest of his captains looked intrigued; Kenpachi had of course worn that shark-like grin of his, thinking about fighting such a powerful soul.

_Flashback_

"…according to the testimony given us by the child and various other survivors, mostly women and children, the Ryoka's weapon changed forms several times," Soi Fon stated.

"Hm, changed form, you say?" asked Ukitake.

"Yes, apparently they shifted in between four basic weapons: a pair of widely serrated blades, a vicious looking pair of hooks which emanated purple energy, a chain-like whip with blades at the ends which emanated green electricity, and lastly a pair of massive gauntlets shaped like lions' heads," Soi Fon replied.

"How _interesting_," Mayuri smiled with that look he usually wore when looking at a new test subject, "a shape shifting Zanpakuto - I have never heard of such a thing. Soutaichou, has there ever been a Zanpakuto that could change its form at will?"

The old General sat silently for a about a minute, "No, there has never been reported a Zanpakuto with such unique abilities. This ryoka is truly one of a kind."

Unohana spoke up at this last statement, "Soutaichou, there is another aspect to it."

All eyes turned towards the 4th division captain, and the General looked questioningly at her, "Oh? And what might that be?"

"From my conversation with the child, we were able to safely ascertain that this ryoka - while exceedingly violent - has his own sense of honor."

"Honor? A soul capable of such massacre could not know the beginning of honor," Kaname Tosen stated harshly.

Unohana nodded slowly, "true, but then why did he spare the women and the children?"

Tosen paused for a moment, as did the rest of the captains: of all the dead bodies they had laid to rest, not a single woman or male child below the age of seventeen was found.

"Be that as it may Unohana-san," Tosen began more calmly this time, "how could any of us condone the massacre of over 957 men?"

"I do not condone it, Tosen-Taichou, I am merely stating that this Ryoka has given every soul he has faced a clean battle."

"Enough," Yamamoto slamming his cane on the floor; "Whether or not this soul is justified is not the issue at the moment. You said you had other information regarding this ryoka's Zanpakuto, Unohana?"

Unohana turned back to her Commander, "Hai, upon interviewing the child we first discovered in the 80th district, I discovered that he had had close contact with the Ryoka and was able to obtain a description of him, along with a disturbing fact about his Zanpakuto."

"Ah, now we're getting somewhere," Shunsui stated.

"Disturbing fact?" Soi Fon looked curiously at Unohana, "What kind of disturbing fact?"

"Well, when the child first told me about it I thought he was wrong - after all, no Zanpakuto could be that vicious; still, he reaffirmed it through three versions of his tale. It would seem that the blades this ryoka carries are seared into his wrists and forearms and held there by chains. The boy was able to see traces of burn marks, ergo it is safe to assume that these weapons were quite literally burned into his arms."

Everyone present winced, even Yamamoto looked disturbed: a zanpakuto that would torture its own wielder... Cruel indeed, and dangerous.

"There is another thing, Soutaichou," Soi Fon continued, "It appears that this soul wields a strange kind of magic: one woman declares seeing an explosion of blue reiatsu shaped like a tornado, with the Ryoka at the epicenter of the blast."

"Hm, what about that description you told us about, Unohana-san?" Komamura asked.

"Well, the one thing that should be able to catch anyone's eye, would be his skin," Unohana stated, passing her report copies on her interview with the child to the other captains, "Apparently, his skin is ash-white with the exception of two red tattoos that extend from his body to his uncovered arm and over his left eye."

"Uncovered arm?" Aizen asked curiously.

"Yes, it would seem his left is covered in a kind of golden armor emblazoned with two serpents on the shoulder and on the forearm piece," Unohana stated, "We do not know whether or not this piece of armor is a part of his Zanpakuto or if it's merely for decoration, but given what we have seen of this unique ryoka, we must assume it's not merely for aesthetic purposes."

The captains were silent for about a minute each absorbing the information. Yamamoto had his eyes closed for much of the time forming a mental picture of this soul.

"Whether or not this soul is guilty, he will be judged before the Council of the 46," Yamamoto finally stated, "I am issuing a standing order to all divisions, he is to be arrested on sight. If he resists, lethal force is authorized."

"Yama-ji, is it really necessary to go that far?" Shunsui questioned.

"We cannot ignore the threat he represents, Kyōraku-Taichou, nor can we ignore the deeds he has done. According to the latest reports of the communication and detection division, he will appear in Soul Society soon. We must be on the alert for this ryoka."

"Soutaichou, do you really think it is possible he will attempt to breach the gates of Soul Society?" Aizen asked, "No one has breached the gates in over 300 years and it's not likely that anyone will do so now."

"Perhaps, Aizen, perhaps," Yamamoto stated nodding, "However, it would be unwise for us to be caught off-guard at a critical moment. I am issuing an order to all divisions: double the patrols in the immediate districts around Soul Society; I do not want this Ryoka to come within ten miles of Soul Society without us knowing about it. Understood?

Furthermore, Kuchiki-Taichou, I want you to organize a party of strong Shinigami to engage this Ryoka in the event he somehow manages to breach the walls of Soul Society," Yamamoto stated, "This group may consist of as many vice-captains or non-captain Shinigami as you deem necessary."

"Very well," Byakuya responded.

All the captains nodded.

"Ano, Soutaichou, about the woman we encountered…?"

Tosen looked slightly embarrassed about bringing her up and Yamamoto sighed. The encounter with the strange nearly nude woman had nearly left him with a heart attack. Furthermore, the woman did not seem concerned with the fact that she walked over the wrecked bodies of men. It took a very cold and hard hearted person to ignore the dead all around your feet. She had carried herself with an air of confidence, grace, and sensuality that very few women in Soul Society could mimic. Although he was certain every one of said women would be green with envy if they were to ever be in the same room with that woman. The lieutenant of the 10th had to restrain herself from physically assaulting her.

_Flashback in Flashback_

There was complete silence as she appeared. And there were nosebleeds aplenty. Then the shouting started.

"For the love of…! FOR HEAVENS SAKE, WOMAN, PUT SOME DAMN CLOTHES ON, THERE ARE CHILDREN PRESENT!"

This was the alarmed response of Matsumoto Rangiku who had just seen a woman with a breast size equal to her own, appear out of nowhere virtually naked in front of the group! Of course the erm…child in question was not so happy about being referred to as such.

"WHAT! I AM NOT A CHILD!", came the indignant response.

The woman in question who had just appeared glanced at Toushiro, "Ohhhhhh, is he of age? Awfully cute for such a young Captain."

Every single captain and lieutenant - save for the Commander - gaped at the woman who was now leering openly at the short captain of the 10th division. Said Captain was suddenly uncomfortable as the white and green eyes of the naked female seemed to ravage his form.

"You were saying, miss…" the Commander slowly said closing his eyes against the alluring sight.

"Hmmm... ah, yes, I was… My name is Venus, but you boys may call me Gloria," the woman smiled and licked her lips.

"Well," she said, "I am afraid I must go: my lord has finished his work in disposing of the trash and it is time for me to join him."

"Wait, who are you!"

Before any of the Captains could so much as blink, she was gone, "I'll see you later boys," the sultry voice echoed around them, "especially you, little boy."

Toushirou developed a tick on his forehead, "How many times do I have to say it…"

_In the 8th squad Barracks_

Shunsui and Ukitake were interrupted in their game of shogi when they heard:

"I AM NOT A CHILD!"

"Hmm, looks like someone ticked off lil' shiro again," Shunsui said.

The two Captains laughed and went back to their game.

_Flashback end_

Yamamoto sighed - he'd been doing that a lot lately, "If she is sighted then she is to be brought in for questioning concerning the Ryoka. However, it seems unlikely that she will appear on her own again. When she appears, it will doubtlessly be with the strong Ryoka so we must first focus our efforts around finding him. Understood!"

Nods came from the entire room, "Good. Dismissed!"

_Flashback end_

Yamamoto read again the reports of the interviews with the women in the 80th; apparently this had been not just some random act of mass murder. The women in question had been used as slaves and prostitutes for the various gangs. So far it looked as if the ryoka had slaughtered the main figurehead of the 80th district a warlord by the name of Oda. Soul Society had known about him for a long time but the 2nd squad just never seemed quite successful in tracking him down. As galling as it undoubtedly would be, the Council of the 46 might actually have to thank this ryoka for ridding the Seireitei of that kind of scum.

It was true that the Soul Society did not usually involve itself in matters that went on outside their walls and often complaints arose because of this reticence - Soul Society usually brushed off such criticism because after all did they not have more important things to do? Was it not their duty to destroy the Hollows just as great as their duty to those outside their walls?

Yamamoto knew this but he also knew that times had changed there were now more Shinigami than ever before. These were not the desperate days when he had been young and there had only been a few candidates for the newly built Shinigami academy. These were not the anxious months of waiting for a Hollow attack on the Seireitei and every guard that could be spared waited upon the walls. These were not the years spent in counterattacking the Hollows offensives all the way to Hueco Mundo. These had been years of relative peace and prosperity and all decisions that had been made had been made for the greater good.

'_But nowadays I must ask myself for the greater good of __**whom**__,' _the old warrior thought.

It was partially true that many Shingami could not be spared to patrol Rugonkai but there many who merely whittled away their time in idleness when they could be doing something useful. Soul Society had become corrupt and decadent, too inoculated by their own splendor and wealth to waste time with the lower classes.

'_Perhaps the coming of this ryoka is some sort of sign of things to come, _he mused silently.

'…_and of course there is the execution coming up soon,_ Yamamoto thought.

While he had agreed entirely that Kuchiki Rukia had indeed committed a serious felony that was worthy of a harsh punishment, execution by Sokyoku was a punishment reserved for Captain Class Shinigami, not a mere unseated undistinguished officer of the 13th squad. True, she was of a noble house and that put her on a more distinguished pedestal than most, but even so there was something strange about this - the punishment simply did not fit the crime. Yamamoto was not personally acquainted with the girl, but he had seen criminals before and Kuchiki Rukia was so far from the mold that it was almost painful to watch. He could see in her eyes that her spirit was utterly broken and that she had resigned herself to her fate, but to see her not put up so much as a token defense against the charges laid against her was…he truly did not know how to put it into words. Sad, perhaps…

Shihoin Yoruichi in her black cat form stretched lazily in the sun as she watched the comings and goings of the 72nd district from her perch on a tree branch. Normally, she would never dare to venture this close to Soul Society but Kisuke had asked her to check things out - said something about there being a big incident in the 80th district of Rugonkai, probably nothing but his informant in Soul Society had confirmed that something big had gone down, big enough to even warrant the Sotaichou himself leaving the Soul Society - that had caught Yoruichi's interest. To her considerable knowledge, the Commander-General never left the Soul Society unless there was nothing short of a full blown Hollow invasion.

Leaping down, she leisurely walked through the forest thinking, how many years it had been since she had helped Urahara escape from Aizen's plot to destroy both him and eight other Shinigami. She would have to leave soon though, Urahara desired her help in awakening a human boys spiritual powers - the former 12 division Captain was going to be busy helping another human regain his spiritual powers as a Shinigami. But before she left, she wanted to investigate just what the heck could attract the Soutaicho's attention.

*SNAP*

A snap of a twig to her left immediately had her running up the nearest tree branch to hide. She absolutely could not afford to be seen by anyone, especially Shinigami; Soi Fon, her precious Vice-Captain, would have this sector crawling with the 2nd division in a heartbeat if she was spotted.

A large figure garbed in a tattered cloak pushed his way through the underbrush, his face and body hidden. There was also something wrong with his arm, if the large foreign object that seemed to be sticking out from his shoulders was any indication. The figure crouched down and rested on one knee for a few moments, then looked around again. Yoruichi blinked - for a second she had caught a flash of something white underneath that hood when the strange figure had turned his head.

Deciding to find out if this stranger was a threat or not, she cautiously extended her senses…

…and touched power…

Yoruichi's eyes widened: there was simply no way for a simple stranger to have Reiatsu output this large and Soul Society not be all over him. She managed to catch the tempered nature of his power, further intriguing her. _Amazing, an ordinary soul figuring out how to suppress his power_, she thought. The stranger had been turning his head this way and that way trying to make sure that he was alone before he finally dropped the hood. An ugly scar extended over his right eye, marring his hard lined yet handsome face. A red tattoo extended over his left eye covering his white skin. A black goatee grew from his chin indicating the color of his hair. He apparently had shaved his head and kept it that way.

Yoruichi blinked again - white skin? Well, that was sufficiently odd to hold her interest. Whoever he was, he sat down with his back to a tree, his eyes closed - he appeared to have gone into a meditative trance. Yoruichi slowly and carefully climbed down from the tree, approached the strange man and sat in front of him. As soon as she entered the clearing, his eyes snapped open and his hand seemed ready to grope for something on his back when he saw her.

"A cat?"

He sat there looking at her and Yoruichi decided to just play it dumb for the moment. His voice was deep and low, almost a thoughtful tone as he regarded her. The intensity of his stare was something she had only seen once before when she had the fortune to see Yamamoto's Shikai. It was an unreal experience, the heat of his stare was almost palpable, but then again that might have been because of the flames turning the dirt at her feet to magma; still, there was something inside this warrior's stare that just seemed to freeze one in place.

His gaze then relaxed slightly and he regarded her a bit more calmly. He took his other hand out of his sleeve and leaned his head on his fist. A ghost of a smile flitted across his face, "I suppose I have had worse companions."

Kratos leaned his head back and rested against the tree the cat continued to stare at him in a curious fashion.

"Tell me, little one," Kratos said drawing his eyes back to the feline who sat before him, "does the hope of food draw you to me? If so, then I am afraid I will be sore company for you. Even worse if you tried to follow me on the path that I must take, for mine is a path of war and suffering."

"Oh? And just why is that?"

"I am a soldier, I have known no other way to live: war is what drives my bla - WHAT THE!" Kratos' posture stiffened and his head whipped back to the cat who had apparently just responded to him in a male human's voice.

"No need to be alarmed," the cat said walking up to him and gazing at him curiously, "I'm not a bit surprised at your reaction."

Kratos looked down into the yellow eyes of the cat and something tickled in the back of his mind. He had attempted with Athena's aid to try and use the sensing technique the Shinigami had, but it had almost ended in disaster as he was forced to abandon the notion and decided to just take his opponents as they came. Something in his mind, however, was telling him that this was no ordinary cat.

"You… you are not a cat at all, are you?"

The question was said as a statement rather than a question and Yoruichi cocked her head to one side, "I am impressed: I did not think anyone, let alone a soul without any formal Shinigami training, could see through my disguise."

Kratos slowly took his hand away from his blade in his cloak, "One does not need to able to guess at a disguise when the actor reveals his own face from the mask."

"True," Yoruichi replied.

The two stayed silent for about a minute or two, "What are you, then?"

"Hmm, my answer depends on what you can tell me about yourself - from what you have said already, I can guess a great deal but I must ask you to tell me the rest of what you were saying."

Kratos stared at the cat for about a minute more, some innate sixth sense telling him he could trust this strange Jinn or whatever it was, "What I was saying is that something as small as an animal does not have a chance to survive the path I take."

Yoruichi narrowed her eyes, "And just why is it that you must you walk this path?"

Kratos gazed off into the distance for a moment before answering, "I have already said it: I know of no other way to live."

Yoruichi was in a bit of a quandary: on the one hand, she needed to get back to the human world; on the other hand, this soul's power was incredible - he would be a major boost if they ever had to go up against the Captains of the Gotei 13. Somehow, she needed to get him on her side.

Yoruichi got up and started walking, "You have been truthful with me so I suppose I am obligated to be truthful to you."

Kratos turned his head back to the retreating cat, "What?"

"Come with me and I will tell about this world," Yoruichi said, "and I will show you my true form."

Kratos stood uncertainty clouding his brow, "Of course there are going to be Shinigami patrols passing through these woods in about fifteen minutes so you can take your chances with them if you like."

Kratos eye's narrowed; he did not like being bullied and even worse not knowing something that this cat seemed to figure out so easily. So with mistrust in his heart, he followed the retreating figure of the 'cat'.

Kratos found himself standing in a cave in the side of a cliff. A makeshift door made of wood stood at its entrance. The place might have been used as a thief's hideaway for their loot: it was large and had abandoned fire pits, unused blankets and other gear strewn around.

"I raided this hideout and killed all the thieves but kept the knowledge of its exact location to myself just in case I ever needed a quick hideout," Yoruichi said padding up next to him.

"A wise determination..." Kratos responded, "…Shinigami."

"…"

"…"

"Very good," Yoruichi said staring at him with unblinking eyes, "Yes, I was once a Shinigami, but no longer. Or should I say, a Shinigami in exile."

"I see," Kratos sat down against the wall and leaned against it.

"Ah, yes - I was going to show you my real form," a soft light gathered around the cat's body and its eyes began to glow. There was a small high-pitched noise as the shape in the smoke began to change. Kratos raised one eyebrow as the figure became decidedly female in nature. A surprisingly beautiful nude female at that. He stayed silent as she opened her eyes without the slightest change of feature or expression.

Yoruichi mistook his silence for shock and smirked, "I can see you're shocked… hmm… can't be helped, I suppose. Every time I transform like this, everyone displays an expression of stupefied shock."

Kratos snorted, "believe me, woman, almost nothing in this world could shock me anymore."

Yoruichi's eyes widened slightly, "Ohhh? Is that so," she remarked, striding towards him a distinctly feminine sway to her hips, "then I suppose you won't mind if I go without clothes for the time being? They're so restrictive and confining."

Kratos smirked at her attempts to make him feel embarrassed by being absolutely naked; after all, he had taken thousands of the most insatiable women into his bed and none of them had completely satisfied him, though every woman walked away from his bed with a noticeable limp to their stride. He had even laid with the Goddess of Love herself, Aphrodite, and with her twin daughters. If this woman was trying to entice him by merely being naked, she had another thing coming. Still, there was no harm in teasing her a bit, now, was there?

"Hmph. Do as you please - I suppose you could always seduce any Shinigami out of your way."

Yoruichi's jaw dropped, oh he did NOT just say that, but Kratos wasn't done, "Tell me: do the Shinigami promote prostitution or do all female Shinigami walk around naked?"

If one were to look closely, they would be able to see the flames burning inside of the cat like woman's eyes: playful banter she could do with, but being compared to a _prostitute? _

*SLAP*

Although Kratos had been through many battles, he never quite developed immunity to the legendary Female Slap of Doom that even the titans had feared. When he had cleared the cobwebs out of his head, he saw her donning black pants with metal shin guards and an orange jacket with a black undershirt.

"Hmph! Just for that comment, I'm going to deprive you of seeing my young firm female skin," Yoruichi said with a sniff.

Kratos chuckled, "Believe me, woman, it's nothing I haven't seen before."

Yoruichi glared at him, "Is that so? Well, I have revealed my true form, so don't you think it's time you told me who you are and what someone with such a tempered Reiatsu signature is doing so close to the walls of Soul Society?"

Kratos cocked his head to one side and raised one eyebrow. Yoruichi continued, "Don't try to act like you don't know what I am talking about!"

Kratos grinned: this woman was perceptive, she could tell when he was playing dumb and when he wasn't.

"Sit down - this will be a long story…"

_6 Hours later..._

Yoruichi stared at Kratos for a long time after he had finished - his tale had been interesting to say the least.

"You actually expect me to believe that load of bullshit?"

Kratos had closed his eyes for some time and opened them, "Believe me or no, Yoruichi-san, I have said what I will do and I will."

"Okay, you are officially CRAZY…"

"Hm, I have been called that before."

"Look, there is no way in **hell** you are going to able to break into Soul Society without help!"

"I have never required help from any other warrior save myself."

Yoruichi began to realize he was serious, but even with all of his admittedly massive reiatsu reserves it took more than brute strength to take on even one captain, let alone all of them.

"Do you even have a weapon? Do you even know how Shinigami fight?", Yoruichi countered.

Kratos smirked at her, "I do have weapons, and I do know how to use them, little kitten - that is enough."

Yoruichi glared at the reference to her spirit form but shrugged it off quickly, "Listen, I have been in Soul Society before and I know how it works and where its weaknesses are."

Kratos looked at her calmly, "what are you saying, woman?"

Yoruichi grinned, "If you help me with a little errand I have in the world of the living, I'll help you get into the Soul Society without having to use the gate. I'll even enlist a little backup on the way; think of it as 'I scratch your back, you scratch mine', alright?"

Kratos considered her for a moment; it would be nice to have someone else to distract the lesser Shinigami while he went after the captains. That and a readymade way into Soul Society without having to break down the front door was a very tempting offer, indeed. Kratos grinned, "What sort of errand do you have in mind, Yoruichi-san?"

"Tessai-san, Kisuke-san… A kitty." Uruu pointed with one hand to her right. Kisuke was instantly up and out the door.

"Ooooohhh, what do ya know it's Yoruichi-san, welcome home! Woo Upsey Daisey, Woooo Upsey Daisey, One more time Upsey Daisey!"

The three helpers at Urahara's candy store stared at their eccentric boss as he lifted the cat up in the air.

"Uh... What's with the cat?"

"She is called Yoruichi-san… She is also the owners best friend."

"The owner's best friend is a cat? That's kind of… pathetic." (Wanna go one more time? Okay! Woooooo Upsey Daisey!)

"Well, I suppose you could put it like **that**.."

"Oi, you can put me down now," Yoruichi grumbled.

"Noo, one more time, okay? WOOOOOOO Upsey…*SCRATCH*…EYOWWWWW," Kisuke was down on the ground nursing the scratches on his face.

"Oi! Get up, moron, I know you're not hurt," Yoruichi said as Urahara managed to straighten up, sporting three new scratch marks across his face.

"Now, now, you know I don't like it when you play rough, Yoruichi-san," Yoruichi managed not to blush and set to cleaning her claws.

"By the way, I think you might want to close up shop for the rest of the afternoon, I am going to need the basement and I think you might want to watch."

Kisuke's brow furrowed inquisitively, "Oh? What for?"

Yoruichi looked up, "You can come out now."

Around the corner of the store, a spiritual pressure made itself known. Kisuke glanced up and stared at the newcomer: he was tall about as tall as Tessai and powerfully built, his eyes were cold and his gaze unnerving. The most surprising thing about him was his skin color which was ash-white. A red tattoo came up over his bald head and over his left eye, a long stitched scar running over his right eye. He was dressed in a long black cloak with only his head uncovered.

Jinta, Uruu, and Tessai just stared at the unusual stranger. Kisuke studied him in a scientific manner, "Ah, Yoruichi-san, I didn't know you had a new friend along with you."

"Whatever, so can I use the basement?"

"Well... Sure, but you know about that other favor I asked for?"

"Yeah, Yeah, don't worry, I'll get it done."

Urahara had of course immediately noticed the massive presence hidden behind the restraining nature of this soul Reiatsu.

"Well, then, I believe introductions are in order: my name is Urahara Kisuke, humble owner of this fine establishment and these are my helpers - Tessai-san, Jinta-kun and Uruu-chan."

The stranger stared at him for a moment looking him up and down as if evaluating his threat level.

"I am Kratos."

Was his only reply. The breeze was the only thing that broke the silence. Kratos looked the absurdly dressed man with the fan in his face up and down. To him it was all black and what safe or unsafe, protect or kill.

"Oi! Hello, anyone home," Kratos glanced down at the red headed boy that was glaring at him, "Oi, come on, say something." Jinta took a swing with his foot at the guy's shin.

**Not** a smart move.

Kratos looked amused as the child that had kicked him rolled on the ground rubbing his foot.

For his part felt, Jinta as if he had just kicked an iron wall - what the hell was this guy made of, anyway?

"You shouldn't kick the owner's friend's friend, Jinta-kun," Uruu said glancing down at her fellow helper.

"Listen to the female, boy, she is wiser than you," Kratos said in a low voice.

Uruu blushed at the compliment, "Okay, how about we all go inside for tea." Urahara said snapping his fan shut. Yoruichi followed him inside with Jinta and Uruu, Kratos glanced at the mustached man who was still appraising him, "I trust Yoruichi-san completely," he said finally.

Kratos nodded and followed the group inside.

_Alright, I may have messed with the timeline a bit with that last scene, but I think you'll all love the next chapter. Also, some people wanted Gloria to make an appearance, so don't worry: I'll see to it in the next chapter._


	5. Chapter 5

"Woooooooah, what the hell is this!"

The group stared out into a vast area beneath the small Candy shop owned by Urahara - the walls were painted blue and meant to resemble the sky.

"Who would have thought th~ere was such a h~uge sp~ace underneath the store?" the shopkeeper's voice echoed.

"Yes, yes, we are all very impressed, now could we please get on with it," came Yoruichi's annoyed response.

Urahara grinned as he glanced back at her, "Alrighty, then. Now, we need to see how strong Kratos-san is so Tessai, please be prepared for any medical emergencies."

"Hai, Owner-san," Tessai replied holding up a medical kit.

So far, Kratos had simply stared at the strange man. He had been wondering what thoughts had occupied his mind as Yoruichi had relayed his story to the shop owner. The man was more than he appeared to be - that part was obvious: the strange look that had come over his face and the way he hid beneath that fan and hat were an obvious give away that he was hiding something. That and the obvious idiotic way he acted to intentionally annoy people while making smart-Alec comments to get a rise out of someone.

"So then… eh… uh… how are we doing this again, Yoruichi-san?", Urahara asked, glancing down at the cat.

"Simple: you're fighting him, so **move it**," she replied.

Urahara almost fumbled his fan before snapping it open in front of his face again.

"EEEH, um… Yoruichi-san, does he even have a…"

"Can I kill him?" The bland question came from Kratos as he undid the ties on his cloak.

"W-w-w-wait a minute, here!" Urahara stuttered in slight panic.

"No, Kratos, you can't kill him," Yoruichi responded.

The shop-owner breathed a sigh of relief.

"Can I maim him at least?", Kratos asked.

"Go ahead," Yoruichi said with a Cheshire grin.

Urahara's eyes snapped back open, "Uuuuhhh, Now wait a minute, Yoruichi-san!"

"Urahara, think quick," Yoruichi said in a bland tone.

Urahara's eyes widened as two blazing serrated blades zipped in front of him. Glancing down he saw the top of his fan was gone and the rest on fire; glancing up, he sweat-dropped and used Shunpo to get out of the way of the next strike.

"Oh, dear: I do believe you have killed my fan."

"Yes, I do have weapons if that is what you were about to ask," was the white skinned warrior's response.

Kisuke took one look at him and a small trickle of sweat ran down his face: the Soul in front of him had discarded the black cloak and without a doubt he had one of the most impressive physical physiques that he had laid eyes on besides maybe old man Yama or that battle-happy Kenpachi.

Then his eyes found his blades.

'A dual wield Zanpakuto that's attached to the forearms and wrists - now **that** is interesting,' he thought as he dodged another strike.

Kratos swooped in with a flurry of strikes, throwing the blades in front of him in a straight pattern then curving his strikes upwards to get his prey into the air, trying to hit the irritatingly fast man. Urahara was in a bind: while he was indeed grateful that Yoruichi had found another powerful soul to join their merry little band, he did not appreciate being maimed. Finally, he was forced to draw Benihime and block a strike aimed at his liver.

He immediately regretted it as his muscles groaned in protest. 'Kami, how strong is he?' Urahara thought as he slid sideways to avoid getting slashed. 'He is so strong that skill might just become a null factor, though it is obvious he has that too,' Urahara thought.

Yoruichi watched as Kisuke was being driven back by the ferocity of Kratos' attacks. She noticed that Kratos did not add reiatsu to his feet to increase his movement speed, _hmm, maybe that's something he hasn't quite figured out yet. Looks like I'll be training more than one person - at least for tonight. _

Kisuke was eventually able to use Shunpo and get out of the way to a small hillock a small ways away.

Kratos frowned, 'I am strongly beginning to dislike that move,' he thought as flicked his wrist blades back to his hand.

"If dodging is all you are capable of, then you might as well give up," Kratos growled, striding towards his enemy.

Urahara glanced up at him with one eye, "My, my, I was just surprised, is all; please don't think that I'm having a hard time."

Kratos raised an eyebrow, "Well, then, I hope for your sake that your speed is greater than that of Hermes, for this next attack may kill you."

This time it was Urahara's turn to raise an eyebrow smiling slightly, "Regardless of who this Hermes fellow is, it looks like I might have to take this seriously, now."

…

Kratos crossed his blades in front of him and began gathering his massive Reiatsu. Urahara noticed the spike in Reiatsu pressure and released his Zanpakuto, "**Nake, Benihime."**

Kratos grinned as he felt the other mans spiritual pressure rise, "**Drag To Hell: Claws of Hades."**

Purple energy crackled as the two blades became two vicious hooks that he had snatched away from Hades in their final battle.

"Interesting - you seem to have a very barbaric Zanpakuto," Urahara commented.

"Ripped from the hands of Hades himself," Kratos commented.

Urahara raised an eyebrow at the comment - this extra bit of information was a bit much to swallow; given what he has seen so far, though…

Kratos thrust both of the hooks straight down into his shadow, the twin hooks zipped at their target. Urahara raised an eyebrow then his instinct told him to look down: he took one glance at the purple haze that suddenly surrounded his feet, "I see." The hooks suddenly burst from his own shadow forcing him to jump away at the last second. '_So those hooks can move through shadows like Kyoraku Taichou's Katen Kyokotsu'_ Urahara was barely able to think this before the hooks found his shadow again. It soon became a deadly game of tag; the former Captain was able to keep up with the continuously hunting hooks, although he had admittedly close calls and a several rips in his coattails.

Kratos suddenly pulled the hooks out of the shadow, "Come forth, Chimera!" he shouted, whipping both hooks into the ground when he spoke. Dragged from the ground was the shape of a vicious fiend with a goat and a lion for a head and a snake for a tail, standing tall for a moment before roaring at its enemy. Urahara was shocked to see his opponent pull something that was only heard of in myths, out of the ground. He had little time to marvel as the Chimera was on him - crouching low; the monster whipped its snake tail over its head attempting to catch him by surprise. He managed to block it with Benihime, but was still forced backwards. Springing after its prey, the monster let loose a stream of orange flame from its lion head. Urahara had no choice, "Sing, Benihime." The crimson jet of energy sliced through the flame, cutting into the monster which roared in pain.

"Well, now, I wasn't expecting a weapon to be able to call forth legendary monst…"

"Come, Cerberus."

'_Oh shit,'_ was the only thing that Urahara could think when faced with a fire breathing, three-headed dog. The Cerberus charged, spewing fire balls from two heads the third acting as a guide. Once again Urahara was forced to dodge while throwing jets of red energy at the beast, eventually destroying it. "I admit, that was certainly unex…EH WHAT THE HELL!" Around Kratos there were at least five more chimeras and two Cerberus.

"Go."

The simple command of their master set the beasts charging at the stunned former captain who was now pushed beyond what he had intended to show. Flinging crimson jets of energy at the monsters that retaliated with fireballs, he was finally able to destroy the last one.

He landed and breathed deeply for a second.

One second to long as a powerful hand descended on his shoulder. _'You've got to be kidding me.' _

Famous last words. Kratos picked Urahara up and threw his weight behind a devastating haymaker. Being off balance as he was had nowhere to dodge, Kisuke could feel his ribs snapping as he was thrown backwards through three separate hills.

Kisuke woke up to a serrated blade tickling his nose, Kratos staring down at him with a grim look in his eyes, "Give up," he stated blandly - it was not a question.

"Ok, ok, I give up!" was the frantic reply, "you didn't take me seriously."

"No, I admit I did not - a mistake I will not make again," Urahara grinned up at the bull of a man, who - with a grunt of dissatisfaction - placed the blade back on his shoulder.

"Well, now, that was a marvelous demonstration, Kratos-san…URGH," Kisuke tried to sit up but his midsection reminded him of how the 'spar' had ended.

"Please remain still, Owner-san," Tessai knelt down and began attending the wound to Urahara's midsection.

"Ah, thank you, Tessai-san," Urahara leaned back while Tessai worked his magic. Yoruichi - still in cat form - leapt down from a hillock where she had watched and padded up to the three. Taking one glance at the damage Kratos was able to do with a single punch, Yoruichi raised an eyebrow at the sitting warrior, "Alright, I admit it: I am more impressed than I thought I would be."

Kratos gave a small smirk, "I warned you, didn't I?"

"Yes, yes you did," Yoruichi responded.

"By the way, Kratos-san, would you mind telling me how you're able to summon mythological monsters with those hooks?" Kisuke asked eyeing the white warrior's weapons.

Kratos looked contemplatively into the distance. "When the war between the Gods and their parents ended, the three great brothers Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades - children of Kronos - drew lots for the three greatest realms of the world: Zeus claimed mastery over the heavens, Poseidon claimed the sea and Hades had command over the underworld; he was responsible for every soul that fell to his kingdom. Some called him the Silent One or the Greater of Many Guests; however, souls and their darkness remained Lord Hades' power: he was able to call upon myriads of endless undead to aid him in battle. He could also summon the souls of undead monsters to his side so no matter how many times you put them down, he could merely resurrect them and send them back to battle. It was in Hades that he formed his minions from the torments of wicked souls. Such monsters he set loose on the world for Hades had no love for mortals and especially mortal heroes."

Kratos drew the blades and changed them back to the hooks, "When I ripped these from Hades' grasp, I tore open a hole in his head and freed the souls that had been wicked or annoying enough… to him, at any rate… to warrant his personal attention. Some of them, however, had been with him too long and had become merely mindless beasts. **This** is what created the fiends."

"I see," definitely not the answer Urahara had been expecting. The scientist in him was dying to experiment on that Zanpakuto: to summon forth fallen souls was…an unheard of feat, even in all the history of Seireitei no one had ever attempted something like summoning something back from the cycle of reincarnation.

But if he was to swallow that explanation, it would mean he'd have to accept Kratos' explanation of his origins - that would be a frightening prospect, not in the least what it meant for Soul Society. Oh, boy, Old-Man Yama was going to have a field day with this if he ever got wind of it.

Tessai could not believe what his healing spells were telling him: almost all of the left side of Urahara's rib cage was nearly caved-in, not to mention the damage that might have been done if one of those rib fragments had punctured a lung. Luckily enough, the damage appeared to have been localized and directed away from the lungs.

"Well, I suppose I will be using a wheelchair tomorrow, eh, Tessai-san?" Kisuke commented as he felt his ribs reconnect.

"Most likely, Owner-san, or if you are walking you will be relying heavily on Benihime," Tessai replied.

"I see," Urahara thought for a moment, "then Kratos-san, I have a favor to ask you…"

"What is it?"

"Oh, nothing much," Urahara responded, "You see, I need to turn a young human back into a Shinigami and once I do, he needs to be trained to use his weapon."

Kratos raised one eyebrow, "And you have done this before?"

"Well…" Urahara looked embarrassed.

Kratos grimaced, "very well, I suppose since I put you in that position that I can train the boy."

"Ah, superb! We will begin tomorrow," Urahara said enthusiastically.

As Kratos walked to the ladder, he saw Yoruichi leaning against it in her human form… and fully clothed.

"You are strong in the physical sense of the word, Kratos, but I see you are lacking in a specific area when you fought Urahara," Yoruichi said.

Kratos raised an eyebrow at her, "and that is?"

Yoruichi smiled, "Speed… which I am going to teach you."

Kratos was silent for a moment, "Do you mean the speed at which Urahara-san moved?"

She nodded, "Yep."

Kratos grinned, "Very well. On a side note, how good are you at… "

Yoruichi smiled, "Shunpo, it's called Shunpo. As for how good I am, well…" she walked past him out into the training area, "…I wasn't called the Goddess of the Flash for nothing."

Kratos grinned slightly - he was beginning to like this woman.

Kukaku Shiba was bored, no scratch that she was bored out of her mind. Staring out at the outskirts of Soul Society brought her little comfort, only bad memories there. The latest firework orders were done and Ganju at least was behaving himself _or at least staying out from underfoot_. At least as far as she knew he was. Lazily she took another drag at her pipe and wondered about what she would do tomorrow. Urahara's little rebellion wasn't due to start for a few days so she had time on her hands. _Damn it I want to fight something or at least beat something up_ she grumbled to herself. Ganju had been behaving himself so she couldn't kick him around. It was getting on toward night time and she had nearly sat here for an hour watching the sun go down. On top of that it looked as if it might rain soon.

"Mistress Shiba, WE HAVE INTRUDERS!"

Kukaku grinned to herself _well how nice I ask and fate delivers, _"about damn time I was getting bored. "Where," she demanded?

"In the front courtyard Mistress but please don't go out there please let your humble servants take care of this."

Kukaku scoffed, "eh, nah I been wantin' a fight all afternoon. Relax I got this."

Kukaku Shunpoed to her front courtyard, that just happened to be her design for the house this month, and looked around. The gates were open and the place looked normal.

"Hey sis," Ganju came running around the side of the house his sword in hand, "I heard about the intruders how many are there where are the…ARGH."

Kukaku kicked him in the face, "Idiot! What have I told you about running with your sword!"

"Gomen-nasai," he whimpered clutching his face.

Kukaku's eyes suddenly shot up as a spike of Reiatsu made itself known at her front gate. The ground shook slightly then again and again and again. Kukaku turned and stared.

Coming through her front gate his head almost touching the top of said gate had to be the biggest damn man she had ever seen besides Jidanbo. He had to be at the very least eight feet tall with massive arms and shoulders almost the width and girth of her gate. As he came closer and the earth rumbled harder as he did the Shiba matron could make out his features.

He was handsome in a way with brown eyes tinged with gray. His hair was black and there were claw marks on his face and across his bare chest. Around his waist he wore what looked to be leather tasseled armor shorts but little else. Kukaku snorted she doubted whether anyone in Seireitei could make a cloak big enough to fit this guy.

"Damn you're a big one," Kukaku grunted drawing her blade, "who the hell do you think you are trespassing on my home, eh?"

The giant looked down at her with a smile on his giant face, "Your pardon, milady, but could you perhaps spare a place by a fire to sleep: my mistress does not enjoy the outer elements as some of the riffraff around here do."

Kukaku huffed, "What does my place look like, a damn hotel?"

The big man just looked at her, Kukaku blew a strand of hair out of her face, "Alright look it's late and you obviously don't have any money or you would be stayin' in town so you gotta give me something of equal value pal."

"Oh," the giant asked a curious look on his face, "such as."

"If you can beat me in a straight fight then my place is open to you as long as you need it to be, you and this mistress of yours."

"_Well now_, I never expected to find a daughter of Athena to appear in this world."

Ganju who had just woken up looked dizzily at his sister then at the gate. His eyes widened when he saw the huge guy but his widened more when he was privy to the entrance of a Goddess.

The woman was astonishingly beautiful with white hair a heart shaped face and a bust that any woman would be jealous of. She wore white thigh high boots which clung to the curves of her legs in a way that should have been illegal. Above that was a white dress that had slits on the sides revealing the tops of her thighs in a large v pattern, the front was open revealing her cleavage and was tied by brown bindings. The dress was hemmed with an exquisite border. On the shoulders there were feather like shoulder pads which gave an exotic quality to her appearance. Her eyes had green pupils and the rest was strangely white giving her gaze an intensity that she could use. On her hands were two long gloves which came up to her elbows.

"Eh! Ah! Oh! Wow!"

For once Ganju was speechless and Kukaku could agree the woman was breath taking.

"W-who the hell are you," Kukaku just knew there had to be something wrong with this picture. For one thing what was somebody as well dressed as this woman doing in the outskirts of Rugonkai. Anybody with a face that pretty or form that beautiful should be adorning some nobleman's bed or court not wandering the darkened streets.

"My name is Gloria, daughter of Athena," the woman's voice dripped sensuality and seduction, "I do hope my bodyguard doesn't knock you about too much: you have too pretty a face to waste. Hercules, be a dear and play nice with her.

The newly named giant grinned and flexed his massive hands; it was only then that he released his full reiatsu.

"As you wish milady," he grinned down at her and Kukaku's only thought was, _Me and my big mouth. _

"Mayuri-sama, I think you need to look at this," an operator in the 12th division called, "we have readings of an abnormally high reiatsu reading."

"Hmm... Pull it up on the main screen," the Captain of the 12th ordered, "Hai, Mayuri-sama."

The brilliant if insane captain's eyes were riveted to the screen as the data scrolled across it.

"How interesting," he commented as he took in every detail about the reiatsu as he could, '_strange - I could almost swear I have seen these patterns of reiatsu before._ The scientist looked harder at the screen straining his memory for where he had seen that pattern before. Suddenly a particular piece of data scrolled across the screen, "FREEZE THAT IMAGE!" Mayuri screamed at the operator who frantically complied. Mayuri got up and went right up to the computer screen the room going silent as he examined the frequency of the reiatsu.

"Bring up the frequency for reiatsu signature Alpha 10, on this screen, display side by side for Reiatsu comparison," he commanded.

"Yes sir," the operator replied.

Mayuri watched as the comparison matched the frequencies in different ways an almost 73% match to that signature that had been sighted in the 80th. "Get me a location on this reiatsu signature immediately!" Mayuri screeched.

"Hai, Mayuri-sama," the operator typed his request and shot it over to the communications division who in turn triangulated its location and sent it back. "We have a location."

"Excellent! Inform the communications division that they must not lose this signature or I will personally pickle them in vats of acid," Mayuri stated as he made copies of the data on to several disks.

"Yes sir," the operator sweat-dropped slightly, but then again he had seen his captain do stranger things.

The Captain's meeting hall was a bit tense: the 12th division captain had sent an urgent message desiring all captains to meet in the hall. Everyone wondered what could have possessed Mayuri enough to summon a captain's council this late at night - only the Captain-Commander was allowed to call an emergency Captain meeting unless the need was urgent; then again, the man had never really been right in the head.

Finally the door opened and the Kurostuchi Mayuri walked in and took his place.

"Kurostuchi-Taichou, explain yourself! Why have summoned the captains without my permission?" the Commander rumbled releasing a small spike reiatsu. Even Mayuri understood that he had better have a damn good excuse for his breach of protocol or the Commander was not going to be happy.

"I assure you, Soutaichou, that I have the best of reasons," Mayrui stated.

"Over two hours ago, a spike of reiatsu was detected in Rugonkai - I was in the operation room at the time and I discovered something truly fascinating," the lights dimmed and a holographic projector appeared in the middle of the room, showing the reiatsu signature frequency, "the reiatsu signature showed an almost 73% comparison to the signature frequency detected in the 80th district."

"Yeah, so…" was the question Kenpachi posed.

"I was coming to that," Mayuri said annoyed at being interrupted, "now; normally this would not mean much but this signature had matching frequency types to the 80th signature in such factors as to suggest a familial relationship."

The Captains present stirred slightly: it was a well known fact that the reiatsu signatures of family relations - especially close blood family relationships had - were distinctly similar and yet surprisingly unique, it was like a Human DNA test for reiatsu, "I therefore ordered the Communication division to obtain and maintain a lock upon this signature. Upon further study I was able to ascertain that this signature is more than likely related in some manner to the 80th killer."

The Captains present instantly grasped the meaning of Mayuri's discovery: a blood relation to the 80th killer could prove to be a valuable source of information, "Also, it seems that this family appears to share the common trait of having unnaturally high reiatsu pressure." The holo image displayed the reiatsu as strong as about a new captain.

"I see," the commander said slowly, "very well, you were right to bring this to our attention, Kurustuchi-Taichou. Does the communication division still have a fixed location upon this soul?"

"They'd better," Mayuri growled, "at its current location, it appears to be on the outskirts of Soul Society."

"Well, now, what do you want to do, Yama-ji?" Shunsui drawled.

"It is obvious, is it not?" said Kuichiki Byakuya, "We must bring this soul in for questioning."

"On what grounds, Byakuya? As far as we know, this soul had nothing to do with the 80th killer or his actions other than being related to him," Shunsui countered.

"While true, we could consider making this soul into one of us; look at these reiatsu readings - if he is amiable to the suggestion, he would make a very powerful shinigami," Ukitake said.

The captains in general began nodding their heads at the suggestion, "Yeah, why not? Besides, this guy might be a good fight."

All the Captains present rolled their eyes at Kenpachi's declaration.

"So be it," the Commander stated.

The group consisting this time of Ichigo, Tessai, Jinta, Ururu, and Urahara (who was leaning heavily on his cane) gazed out at the training area beneath Urahara's Candy store.

"Who would have thought th~ere was su~ch a hu~ge space beneath the sto~re!"

"Shut up, I'm impressed enough as it is, you don't have to shout for me," Ichigo said in a bored tone of voice.

Urahara just chuckled, "Let's get on with it, already - this study session or whatever..."

"Ah, as you wish," the shop owner said and punted Ichigo in the forehead with the tip of his cane and out of Ichigo's back popped his soul.

"Oi, what the hell was that *cough*," suddenly Ichigo found it hard to breath. He almost fainted due to lack of air.

"It's hard to breathe in your soul form, isn't it? Right now you're Soul Sleep, the source of your spirit power, and its booster, your chain link, are destroyed. In other words, you're a normal human soul with no spirit power. We can't even begin until the spirit power you've lost has been restored."

"Then what do I have to do?"

"Yes, well, rather than explaining, I guess I'll just go ahead. Hey," Urahara called, "You ready?"

Standing a little ways away her dress full of equipment was Ururu, "I'm looking forward to working with you."

**Lesson One Canon**

Kratos sat watching from a ways away suppressing his spirit power; the boy was comical to say the least. Or rather, Urahara did a good job of making him look extremely foolish. Kratos had to admit that the little girl was surprising, certainly nothing he had been expecting; but just how was he supposed to train this Ichigo kid? More than likely he wouldn't last one day under him - Spartan training was notoriously bad on the health of its participants. _If the bucket-hat schemer over there thinks I'll take it easy on the boy, he will be sorely disappointed._

Kratos shook his head as he watched the boy run around getting chased by a little girl of all things; if any Spartan soldier acted like that, he would have been executed for cowardice. **Amen to that, **Ares commented in his head. _But this isn't Sparta,_ he reminded himself. _Things are not as harsh in this world as they were in my world._ Kratos glanced back at the scene in front of him. _Pathetic boy. If you've the strength to run, you have the strength to fight. _Ichigo suddenly stopped and turned to face Ururu, _he's finally figured it out._

Kratos smiled a bit at the simplicity of Urahara's explanation. _Well, perhaps the boy is not a total loss..._

**Lesson Two Canon**

Kratos raised his eyebrow at Urahara's explanation for his so called lesson two. It was official: that man was crazy, or at least as insane as people got around this world. How in the name of Olympus was the boy supposed to get out of a hole that deep before becoming a Hollow? Kratos supposed he could give the man the benefit of the doubt - after all, Lesson One had supposedly worked, hadn't it?

He wondered what other abilities that man Tessai was hiding when he witnessed the spells he placed upon the boy. Kratos heard the guttural screams of the hollow in the pit and stood descending from his hillock; he walked toward the mouth of the pit and stared down at the creature the boy was becoming. _Fight it, boy, or I will have to put you down, _he thought. He watched fascinated as the boy snapped two of the restraints put on him by the mustached man.

"Manager, it's at its limit!" Tessai shouted, "Switching to suppression style. **Way of Binding Number 99: Type 2 Bankin. First Song, Shiryuu. Second Song, Hyakurensan! **"

Tessai jammed his hands into the ground and long strips of white cloth appeared and wrapped themselves firmly around the still screaming creature. The second song was long green acupuncture-like needles that pierced the boy's shoulders and chest.

"Oi, Tessai-san, if you hit 'em with that he'll die!" Jinta shouted from the rim of the pit.

"At this point I have no choice," the former Captain of the Kido Corps grunted, "I have already reached the limit of simply holding him. He must be eliminated before he becomes a hollow."

Slapping his hands together Kido master performed his last spell, "**Final Song, Bankin Taihou!"**

A big metal slab appeared above Ichigo and gravity took over, but something was happening to the beast the boy had become - something was breaking the first two seals. A white light appeared on the boy's chest, piercing the cloths that wrapped around him.

"This is the end!"

Suddenly, the entire pit exploded in yellow reiatsu that blasted up towards the ceiling. Urahara grabbed Jinta and Ururu and covered them with his body as something flew out of the pit. The yellow ball of light bounced off the walls three times before slamming into the ground about twenty feet away from the pit. Kratos merely stood there closing his eyes against the brightness of the explosion. When the light show was over, he gazed at the figure that had emerged.

"Huh, what happened?" Jinta said getting up from his crouch along with Ururu and Urahara.

The shadowy figure in the dust opened two red eyes that stared straight ahead. When the dust finally settled Jinta and Ururu gasped. Standing there was Ichigo clad in the black Kimono of a Shinigami, but covering his face was a white Hollow mask with red tribal tattoos on one side while the other side was completely white.

Kratos turned and regarded the figure curiously, '_so that is a hollow mask...'_

Urahara was thinking something completely different, '_excellent! He has become like… them!'_

"A Hollow mask and a Shinigami outfit," Jinta wondered out loud, "what the hell is he?"

Ichigo reached a hand to his Zanpakuto and drew it - well, what was left of it, at any rate, which wasn't much. Kratos almost burst out laughing at the tiny blade which extended only about an inch away from the guard. Ichigo flipped the hilt in the direction of his face and smashed it into the hollow mask. The mask cracked and Ichigo pulled the rest of it off. Ichigo looked down at his hand and flexed it for a few seconds as if trying to reassure himself that it was his hand. He looked up to the sound of clapping.

"Excellent," Urahara announced flipping his fan open with a smile, "you have returned to being a Shinigami right on time. Superb! Lesson Two clear!"

"Shut… your… trap!" Ichigo said slamming his hilt into the shopkeeper's face.

"GAH, my face!"

"He he he, the second I came back to life was the second your luck ran out buddy," Ichigo said with a decidedly unpleasant smile on his face, "I swore to myself that if I ever got outta that hole alive I was going to Kill you."

"I don't blame you for being angry, boy, but I think you're going to need him around for a little while longer."

Ichigo turned and saw someone he had never seen before. Kratos had gone through something of a wardrobe change than when he had been in his own world: now he wore tan khaki long shorts that stretched to just above his greaves and sandals which had remained the same. He wore a red tank top which freed his arms to fight. The long worn out fingerless gloves he had used were now replaced with newer more resistant to wear and tear red leather. His arm guards remained as they were.

Kratos had been a bit leery of getting new clothes, but Yoruichi had managed to convince him to wear something a little more modern considering his old clothes were outdated and would be instantly recognizable.

"Uh... who are you?"

"My name is Kratos, and I am going to be helping you to wage war upon heaven."

Ichigo looked a bit stunned at Kratos choice of words, 'wage war on heaven,' he thought while just staring at the strange man. "Uh... look, Kratos-san, I ain't planning on wage war on anybody - I just need to save Rukia."

Kratos almost felt sorry for the boy's ignorance of the momentous task he was about to undertake, "Listen carefully, boy: what do you think the Captains of heaven will call it when you break down their walls, fight through their men and injuring several in the process, not to mention rescue a convicted felon? Those things sound like waging war to me and believe me, boy, I have been in more war's than you have had hot meals."

Ichigo just stared, "Well, when you put it like **that**, I guess… but, still, how much could the Captains care about one prisoner?"

Kratos just grinned at the boy's ignorance and turned to walk away, "we shall see, boy - we shall see."

A tick appeared on Ichigo's forehead, "Oi, my name is **Ichigo**, okay? Use it, Albino-san!"

Kratos stopped walking, his fist clenching at Ichigo's comment: had he any hair it would have been bristling. Urahara recognized the danger sign immediately, "ON THAT NOTE, Kratos-san, you might want to stick around for this next bit because after Lesson Three he's all yours."

Ichigo whipped his head around and stared at Urahara, "Oi, Oi, what's that supposed to mean? And… uh, Lesson Three?"

Urahara nodded, "Yep! Unlike the other two lessons, Lesson Three has no time limit and it's fairly straightforward: knock off my hat and Lesson Three will be cleared."

WHOOOSH

Urahara glanced up as Ichigo swept his broken blade at his head. A tiny cut appeared where Ichigo had swept his sword upwards. Ichigo leapt backwards, "Impressive. Such an attack with only a broken Zanpakuto…" Ichigo straightened and pointed his broken blade at Urahara, "Of course! If I get serious, I got plenty more where that came from! Forget the laidback no time-limit crap…" Ichigo held up one hand, "Let's settle this in about five minutes!"

Urahara looked up, "Yes, well…" taking his cane in two hands he drew a cane sword from its sheath, "Okay - in five minutes… we'll settle this."

Meanwhile Kratos was trying to ignore Ares cracking up in his head, **"Hahahahahahahahahahahah … (breathe)…Hahahahahahahahaha…tha-that was f-funny as hell."**

'Be silent, he might just as easily been talking about you,' Kratos frowned then smirked as dead silence followed, and then, "**You let me outta here this fucking minute, I am gonna kill that brat, you hear me!"**

"**Oh, do be quiet, brother: the boy does not even know we exist yet," **came Athena's annoyed tone.

"**Sure, sis, since I am fairly certain he was talking about YOU,"** Kratos rolled his eyes and prepared himself for the oncoming headache. It was not easy to anger the Goddess of wisdom, but when you did - WATCH OUT.

"**Kratos, be a dear and materialize me so I can RIP THAT ARROGANT LITTLE SHIT'S NUTS OFF!"**

Kratos grinned, "Do not worry, Athena, we will have our time... and we will use it **well**."

Ichigo was once again cursing his big mouth: his Zanpakuto had lasted about half a minute against Benihime and now he was once again forced to run away. Urahara, though injured, was able to still trounce Ichigo while the latter was barely escaping with his life.

_Why am I running… Is that all I've got, _Ichigo wondered, _Is this the measure of my resolve? This is pathetic… Pathetic… I can't fight him… If I go on like this… I am a coward…! _

_**What are you doing...? why do you run, Ichigo...?"**_

Ichigo's mind stuttered over that last thought which hadn't come from him,** 'you still have not called upon me.' **In front of Ichigo appeared the spirit form of his Zanpakuto: he was shaped like an old lightly bearded man who wore pitch-black glasses and his ripped coattails fluttered in a nonexistent wind.

"**Face forward, Ichigo… You should be able to hear it, now… That which blocks your ears is worthless fear…**"

In real time, Ichigo stopped running as did Urahara.

"**The enemy is one, you are one."**

"**What is there to fear?"**

"**Cast off your fear."**

Urahara raised Benihime…

"**Look Forward!"**

"**GO FORWARD!"**

"**Never stand still."**

"**Retreat and you will age."**

"**Hesitate and you will die."**

**"Shout… my name is…"**

"…ZANGETSU!" Ichigo roared as he whipped around, his reiatsu surging - he had found his blade. He slashed it straight down at his enemy. Urahara's eyes widened and he wisely sidestepped the white slash meant for him.

Kratos too looked on and Ares and Athena stopped their arguing for a moment and even Zeus sitting on his white throne in his mind stared with fascination at the new blade Ichigo was holding. It had neither guard nor hilt. _A slashing weapon, _Kratos thought,** an affective one at that …'** Zeus commented.

"Well, now… seeing as how your Zanpakuto has come out, Lets _really _start Lesson Three …"

"I'm sorry, Urahara-san, please be sure to dodge this."

"Excuse me?" Urahara said slightly puzzled.

"I…" Ichigo lifted his blade and as he did so the last remnants of the seals Tessai had used on him shattered, "…Can't hold BACK!"

Urahara's eyes widened, "**Call Out, Benihime!"**

Ichigo brought the blade up clutching it in both hands and brought it crashing down…

"Well now, I do believe…" the store owner said, picking his hat up off the ground the side of which was cut off, "that you have killed my hat."

_Well? What do think?_

_I urge you to be honest when reviewing, should you review (flames will be ignored, naturally); in any case, I realize that some of you are disappointed by the lack of action, but I'll be sure to get some fights going on in the next few chapters._

_By the way, did any of you see that Hercules thing coming? It's definitely going to redefine "Brothers of Blood"._

_Till next time!_


	6. Chapter 6

Ichigo Kurosaki is very used to rude wake up calls. After all, when you live with someone like Isshin Kurosaki who begins each day with "GOOOOOD MOOOOORNIIIIIING IIIIIICHIGOOOOOO!", you would begin to develop a sixth sense to incoming feet, elbows, or fists. Fortunately for Ichigo, this sense also involved other such offensive objects such as incoming blades which he was able to dodge in the nick of time. **Un**fortunately, it did not allow him to completely dodge the Plume of Prometheus which erupted magma out of the ground.

Ichigo was just about to open his mouth and launch a tirade at Kratos who had flicked his blades back to his wrists when a small piece of said magma landed on Ichigo's pants. What followed can be described as perhaps one of the funniest scenes one will ever see in this world: somebody rolling around with their ass on fire.

"Shut the hell up, it wasn't that funny!" Ichigo shouted when he finally put his pants out at Urahara who was wiping tears of mirth away from his eyes.

"Well, perhaps not to you but from my perspective, Kurosaki-san, it was most entertaining show. Have you ever thought of starting a comedy routine?" Urahara snickered as Ichigo went a very angry shade of red.

"Bastard...! what the hell was that for!" Ichigo shouted over at the impassive ash-skinned warrior who looked bored.

"That? Boy, you ought to be grateful that I did not flay you alive while you were screaming like a little girl," Kratos began to spin the blade in his right hand, "do not think any opponent you will face in Seireitei will be as forgiving as I am."

"What was that?"

Kratos slowly began walking towards Ichigo who raised his blade, "Do you think, _boy, _that anyone amongst your enemies - including the one who sealed your powers in the first place - will care in the slightest if your ass is on fire?"

Ichigo gritted his teeth and raised Zangetsu to meet the oncoming warrior who had slowly quickened his pace.

"DO NOT BE NAÏVE, BOY!", Kratos shouted, jumping into the air and bringing both blades down on his student's.

Ichigo managed to block the strike but paid for it as he was forced to one knee, _what the hell is this? He's keeping me down with just one strike!_

Ichigo began pushing back against Kratos' blades and was finally able to roll to the side. He had to instantly jump back again as Kratos' blades smashed into where he had knelt a moment before and created another plume of molten flames. Ichigo tightened his grip on his blade and charged at the warrior…

In retrospect, not the smartest thing he had ever done.

Kratos released his full reiatsu…

A massive column of blood red energy hit the roof of the basement and cracked the ground on which Kratos stood.

Urahara's eyebrows were certainly getting their workout today as they met his hairline again.

It was not possible; it just was not possible for any normal man to have reiatsu this powerful and vast.

_Flashback_

"_I am the son of Zeus and the adopted son of a Titan," Kratos said._

_Flashback End_

'In the name of the thirteen court guards, Yoruichi, what have you unleashed...?'

He had little time to contemplate as his eyes snapped at the sudden incoming wave of reiatsu as it suddenly grew stronger, grabbing Ururu and Jinta who were almost comatose from the intense killing intent in the air, "Tessai-san, a Bakudo 81: Danku if you please."

"On it," the former captain of the Kido Corps shouted back, quickly throwing up the shield.

Across Karakura Town, various individuals reacted to the sudden surge in reiatsu.

Specifically eight individuals residing in an abandoned warehouse.

Shinji Hirako, a bowl cut blonde who was lounging in a chair, tilted his hat upwards as the massive pressure hit.

Hiyori Sarugaki, a short, bad tempered blonde stopped staring at the ceiling and sat up when the pressure spiked.

Hachigen Ushōda, the former lieutenant of the Kido Corps, opened his eyes from meditating in one corner.

Love Aikawa, a man of African-American descent with a spiked afro and sunglasses, stopped reading the latest Shonen-Jump magazine on the couch and glanced over at Shinji.

Mashiro Kuna, a green haired girl wearing a white bodysuit with orange boots and gloves, stopped pacing and glanced up.

Kensei Mugurama, a grey-haired well-built man, stopped mid-punch as he stared at the worn out punching bag, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Rose Otoribashi, a long blonde haired effeminate-looking man, stopped playing his guitar and looked up, his ever calm face furrowing in concentration.

Lisa Yadomaru, a dark-haired young woman stopped reading her adult rated manga and glanced in the direction of Urahara's shop.

"What do you wanna do, dickhead-Shinji? That's coming from Urahara's place, you know," Hiyori called to the blond former captain. "Urahara's a former Captain - he can handle himself," Shinji replied, putting his baseball cap over his face again and going back to sleep.

Or he would have if Hiyori's foot hadn't managed to find its way into his face.

"This is Urahara we're talking about, stupid! If something happens to him, we're screwed!" Hiyori shouted at the now bleeding from the nose Shinji, "so I'm saying it again: what we gonna do, huh?" "Damn it, Hiyori, I am gonna ki…" Shinji started before being interrupted by a fist to his already bleeding face.

"There they go again," Mashiro sighed, "Leave them alone, Mashiro," Kensei said, launching his fist and splitting the punching bag, "It's probably another one of Urahara's experiments gone wrong."

"Still," Love interrupted, "maybe one of us should go and scout around, just in case. Who knows, maybe Aizen has already made his move and has decided to take out Urahara early?" "You've got a point, Love," Rose commented, continuing to pluck the strings on his guitar, "even so, this reiatsu doesn't feel like Aizen or either of his toadies."; "Yeah, that's true…"

"Never mind," Lisa stated blandly, closing her adult rated manga and rising from her easy chair and walking to the door, "I'll check it out.";"Oi, Lisa, where do you think you're going!" Hiyori yelled, waving a semi-conscious Shinji in her direction, "I haven't gotten out in a while and I want some action!" "Humph, do as you please," Lisa replied. "Alright!" Hiyori threw Shinji away and jumped after the taller girl.

"Don't take any unnecessary risks, Lisa, Hiyori," Hachi called from his position in the corner. Both women nodded and waved to the large man as they walked out.

Ichigo was numb; no, scratch that: he was freakin' frozen in place.

_Who the… __**what**__ the hell is he? _

Kratos' grey-eyed stare burned into his eyes: his was the eye of a man who had dealt out death in spades and was not afraid to do it again. It was the eye of a killer and of a… _god. He has to be… no one else could wield power on this scale. _

Kratos began to turn his body towards Ichigo; _move! _Ichigo commanded his body, but it body refused to listen, _move, damn it! I can't die here, not yet - I still have so much to do, I still have to save Rukia! _

Even the thought of the girl who had saved his family by turning him into a Shinigami had no effect on the ice-cold horror that had frozen his limbs in place. Kratos took one step closer and the massive pressure increased. Ichigo was forced to his knees, Zangetsu falling uselessly beside him. Another step, Ichigo's eyes began to close, _damn it _he thought as his eyelids accepted the inevitable fate, awaiting the owner of the body they were attached to.

What had Ichigo worked so hard for nearly died for, all reduced to this low measure, crushed beneath his opponent's mere presence? Shameful… From that shame came anger… and anger turned into rage… He was going to die, he knew it, down to the very core of his being he knew he was going to die. But pride still had a say in the matter, _Hell, I may die in the next few seconds,_ Ichigo clenched his body, forcing hot volatile rage through every pore, forcibly breaking the icy chains of fear around his limbs …_BUT LIKE HELL I AM GOING OUT WITHOUT AT LEAST MARKING THIS BASTARD...!_

Kratos stared down at the boy's closed eyelids, _disappointing. I had expected more from you boy, _Kratos felt the boy's spiritual pressure reduce to almost nothing. He turned away to tell Urahara that he couldn't train someone who was too much of a coward to pick up his own blade, but…

BA-BUMP.

Kratos stopped.

BA-BUMP.

Raising one eyebrow, he turned to look back at the boy.

BA-BUMP.

Slowly, the boy's spiritual pulse returned. Kratos turned back to him as the boy's hands clenched around the hilt of his sword until his knuckles turned white. _What is this...? He was groveling just seconds before and now he wants to fight?_ He was still emitting his reiatsu at full power and yet the boy still struggled against him.

_Why, boy? Why do you get up?_

Ichigo's eyes were still closed but he kept on feeding his reiatsu into Zangetsu and drew strength to stand under the massive presence of this man. Finally, he was able to stand upright and open his eyes, his cornea blue and his entire eyes bright as he stared unflinching into Kratos' surprised grey ones. Kratos' eyes widened as the boy lifted his sword in both hands and shouted at him over the whirlwind of Kratos' reiatsu, "I may die today, but I don't care: I will go out knowing I gave it my all to save my friend! Even if this does not reach you… I will not run!"

Kratos watched impassively as Ichigo poured every last ounce of reiatsu his body could produce into his blade and brought it down in a shining white arch at his chest. Urahara's store was shaken to its very foundation, the buildings around experiencing a mini-earthquake. Urahara was still crouched behind the barrier set up by Tessai when the spiritual pressure's clashed. An explosion filled the basement until visibility was impossible.

Urahara put up his bloodmist shield behind the barrier Tessai had placed just in case the two weren't done yet. Slowly, the dust began to fade and Urahara took a cautious glance out from behind the barriers and gaped at what he saw: Kratos was standing at the beginning of a new ravine that extended out behind him and Ichigo was panting with the exertion blood streaming from his forehead and eyes from the effort; his Zanpakuto was stabbed into the ground to prevent himself from falling. Ichigo was staring at the place he had struck in disbelief. There was a mark on Kratos' chest about as long and thin as a needle, but it did not bleed. It was more of an indentation than an actual cut, but still it was there.

Ichigo grinned slightly as his body started to fall. He watched the ground steadily get nearer… and then he stopped falling. He could feel the weight of a powerful arm supporting him, his limbs giving out and his body finally beginning to shut down. "So… you can muster the resolve to fight after all... Good," Kratos said in a low voice.

"Tell me, boy, who do you think is the best teacher in this world?" Ichigo's brows furrowed at the seemingly random question, "I'll answer myself, then: the best teacher in this world... is an enemy. Think about it: who is it that teaches you weakness like you have never felt it before? Who is it that shows you power you did not know you have before? Who is that teaches skill better than any ally? Who tests you to your absolute limit? The enemy."

Ichigo was barely able to hear him anymore, seeing as how his mind was fading fast. Kratos went on, "from now until you and I break open Seireitei, I will be your enemy. I will hound you until you beg to give up. I will crush you into the dirt a thousand times and dare you to get back to your feet! Make no mistake about it, boy, I will crush you… but I will make you stronger! Understood!" Ichigo could barely turn his head to look into the warrior's eyes; when he spoke, he could taste metallic blood on his tongue "you...make me give up... heh.. right... that ain't... happening..." Kratos looked down at him and for the first time in a long time a genuine smile was on his face. "...Good man."

All things considered, Urahara was more worried about what his neighbors would think about the sudden earthquake they had experienced than the torture he was hearing down below in his basement. Kratos had told him, Jinta, Ururu and Tessai to leave him alone with the boy for three days and to only transport food and water down there twice every day. Urahara inquired if Kratos would need any help, but Kratos had just smiled and said no, changing his blades back to the Claws of Hades and proclaiming, "Here is all the help I need."

That had made Urahara slightly worried about Ichigo's health, but Kratos assured him he would keep the boy alive... if barely. Still, Urahara worried there might not be anything left of his basement after Kratos was done with Ichigo; but taking Kratos' strength and ruthlessness into account, could anyone **really** blame the poor shopkeeper?

Well, even if he was worried, there was just no time; after all, he had a shop to run. Kratos had told him to provide an explanation for the boy's spiritual absence, but Urahara wasn't worried about that one: after all, Ichigo had Kon, didn't he?

He still had had to send Tessai to get the Mod Soul at Ichigo's house and get him here and explain the entire situation to him. Kon had readily agreed to care for Ichigo's body but before he had dashed out Urahara had told him he would be keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn't do anything... untoward.

There was a ring of the front doorbell - oh, new customers to scare! Urahara walked to the main store, "Welcome, esteemed customer! Is there anything I can…*PUNCH* ITAI!" Urahara was forcibly reminded of the days when he had been a captain in the 12th division when his former lieutenant buried her fist directly in his face.

"Ah, Hiyori-san, Lisa-san, what can I do for this fine day?" Urahara said, staunching the blood flow from his nose with a white hanky.

"Cut the crap, Urahara! What the hell was that butt load of reiatsu that had us all fallin' out of our seats about an hour ago?" Hiyori said in her normal crass manner, grabbing the front of his outfit and bringing his face down to her level.

"Indeed, Urahara, despite the tempering seals placed upon this place, we could feel the reiatsu emitting from your basement even from our home," Lisa stated, sitting on the step that led to the backroom.

"Oh, so you were worried about me? Aww, how tou…*WHAM* Itai…" Urahara was once again holding his nose.

"Like hell we were worried about your pathetic scientist's ass! We just got worried that that baldy-Aizen might have decided to off you personally," Hiyori shouted at him.

"Ah, that; well, you see…" "RRRRRROOOOOOOOOAAAARRRRRRRRR *RUMBLE**CRASH* YOU GET THE HELL OFF ME *PUNCH**SLASH**CRASH* OH, IT'S ON NOW, BITCH, YOU WANNA PIECE A ME *RUMBLE*"

All three stared at the half open trapdoor leading down into the underground training area. Lisa and Hiyori both looked at Urahara who was hiding behind his fan.

"Well, now, it sounds as if those two are having a good time, wouldn't you say?"

"Oi, Kisuke," Hiyori said looking back at the trapdoor where more rumbles and sound of fighting were coming from, motioning to Urahara with one finger. The former captain leaned toward her (what an idiot...) only to meet an elbow to the face, "WHAT THE HELL, YOU TORTURIN' SOMEBODY DOWN THERE!"

Urahara recovered from his third broken nose today and whipped his fan open, "No, of course not: a new soul I have just recently had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of is training that Substitute Shinigami I told you all about."

Lisa looked curiously at the opening, "New soul... wait, all that damn reiatsu was **his**?"

Urahara looked down hiding his face and eyes behind the fan and his hat, "As remarkable as it sounds, yes," The two women stared incredulously at him, "every last ounce of it was his."

"You have got to be kidding me," Hiyori stated, staring down the hole where faint flashes of fire mingled with dust could be seen, "shit... that guy has to be stronger than the fucking Soutaichou."

"Perhaps," Lisa began gazing intently at the hole, "is he a Shinigami?"

"What are you talking about, Lisa, he has to be," Hiyori began, "Actually, Hiyori-san, I do believe he was never trained at the Academy at all. He has his own way of fighting."

"No. Fucking. Way.", Hiyori said, glancing back at Kisuke who just looked back at her and she could tell he was dead serious.

The two stared at each other, Hiyori chewing on her thumb for a second and her curiosity burning to know more, "Ah, fuck it, I wanna see this guy," Hiyori said hopping down the hole.

"Hiyori, wait!" Lisa said but Hiyori was already gone, "that girl will never learn..."

"Well, if she did, then she wouldn't be Hiyori," Urahara said chuckling, "by the by, you might want to consider going after her - I don't know if Kratos-san will take kindly to being interrupted."

Lisa sighed as she too jumped down the hole.

Hiyori had thought she would land in a simple training area like the one they had back at the warehouse…

…and boy was she wrong - she had landed in the middle of a friggin' warzone.

Different sized monsters rampaged all around her, ranging from Cerberus to Chimeras to Minotaurs to undead swordsmen and arches. Hiyori gazed at the rampaging monsters in shock, '_what the hell? Aren't most of those things supposed to be legends?'_

Suddenly, a scream was heard and out of the crowd of beasts a black and orange topped figure was flung with a crunch into the wall next to her. Hiyori stared and all she could think was _what the hell is up with that hair? _Suddenly, Hiyori had the distinct impression that she was being watched and turned to find the eyes of all the monsters present directed at her.

"Oh, crap." Hiyori drew her sword from her back sliding into her stance, "alright, shit-stains, who wants some!"

Suddenly, Lisa landed next to her, "Hiyori, how many times have I told you not to…!" "Save it until after the war is over, Lisa."

Lisa frowned at the younger girl then looked up and instantly wished she hadn't. Virtually an army of mythical monsters was bearing down on them.

"Oi, who the hell are you two!", a voice from behind shouted.

Both women turned to look at the bloody and battered Kurosaki Ichigo drag himself from the rubble. He looked as if he had been through a blender, twice: his clothes were in tatters and the only part really remaining was his pants and one half of one sleeve.

"If you two don't mind, I'm training here," the Substitute Shingami said, walking toward the oncoming hoard, "so beat it."

"Uh," Hiyori said slowly and Lisa sighed, knowing the explosion that was about to take place as Hiyori's temper control (of which she had none at all) snapped, "WHAT THE HELL, BALDY, HERE WE ARE TRYING TO HELP YOU NOT GET CLOBBERED AND YOU GOT THE BRASS BALLS TO TELL US TO SCRAM! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, BALDY!"

Ichigo glanced back at the two women and noticed their Soul Slayers, "heh, do what you want, then, but don't blame me if you get killed."

Hiyori had calmed slightly after blowing a little steam out of her nose like a bull, "Whatever, we were planning on doing that, anyway."

"Heads up, you two," Lisa called drawing her Zanpakuto, "here they come."

Ichigo hefted his sword; he was actually beginning to like this challenge of facing an opponent, the thrill of cutting him down, the joy of victory. The young Shinigami was falling in love with battle.

"ALRIGHT, BRING IT!" he shouted charging the oncoming hoard.

Kratos sat watching while the boy and the two newcomers fought of monster after monster. The two women's skill surprised him, somewhat: they were actually pushing back the fiends he had summoned. He grinned; time to kick it up a notch.

"**Call forth, Army of Hades."**

Ichigo slammed his sword into the eye of a Cyclops and wrenched it back as the beast howled in pain and stomped away, crushing three archers and two swordsmen as he leapt back to the ground. To his left, the angry midget decapitated two swordsmen and slashed the arm off of another. To his right, the taller dark haired woman was using an impressive combination of spinning kicks to fend off a Minotaur that roared and tried to hack at her with its axe. She took off the arm that the beast extended and slit the monster's throat.

Seeing no more enemies in the immediate area, Ichigo stabbed his sword into the earth to breathe for a moment.

"Oi, Shinigami Substitue," Ichigo looked at the two sweating women who were panting as they glanced at him, "what the hell were those things, some knew kind of training dummies?"

Ichigo chuckled, "Heh, I wish; nah, Kratos-sensei doesn't use dummies and he doesn't believe in going easy on anybody. Those were true blue monsters, alright."

Lisa stared at the orange haired boy, "do you mean those things could have actually **killed **us?"

Ichigo closed his eyes, "yup."

"What the hell? Who the fuck uses such an insane training method!" Hiyori shouted at him.

The world around them suddenly grew heavier and even Lisa and Hiyori had difficulty staying on their feet.

"**I** do, little boy," the voice came from Kratos as he looked down on them from up in the air.

Lisa looked at the man who had just shown up. The feeling of his reiatsu was so oppressive that even looking at him was hard. His grey eyes scanned them both scrupulously, assessing their threat level. Lisa knew on some instinctual level that this man was stronger than any of the Visord or even perhaps all of them combined. Lisa did not reply to his answer, but Hiyori was not so smart, "WHAT THE HELL, BALDY, ARE YOU TRYIN' TO KILL US OVER HERE AND WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE CALLING ME LITTLE! I'LL SHOW YOU LITTLE WHEN I CUT YOU DOWN TO SIZE!" Hiyori screamed as she leapt at the warrior.

Lisa tried to restrain her but Hiyori's temper was in full swing as she released her Zanpakuto, "**Butcher, Kubikiri Orochi!"** turning her normal Katana into a large cleaver with a jagged edge. Kratos merely watched the incoming girl with a bored expression. He raised the Golden Fleece to counter her strike.

Hiyori didn't quite know what happened when her blade was about to crush that armor on this wise-guy's arm, there was a loud shrieking noise and her blade was blown backwards along with herself. The strike put her on her back heel sliding backwards through the air; angrily she managed to regain her footing in mid-air only to notice the white skinned baldy wasn't there.

A powerful hand suddenly descended onto the top of her head, gripping her ponytails.

"OWWW, Itai, Itai… that fucking hurts, you bastard…" her tirade was stopped when a burning and serrated blade was shoved up under her nose.

Hiyori immediately piped down as Kratos descended back to earth.

"Little boys should learn their place," Kratos commented when he dropped her on her ass.

"Thank you for not harming my friend, Kratos-san," the other woman said, sheathing her sword.

"Tch. Keep him on a tighter leash next time," Kratos said, jumping back up to the cliff on which he had previously stood.

"Asshole," Hiyori quietly commented getting back to her feet…

...suddenly, the gender both the baldy and Lisa had used in referring to her actually penetrated her ears.

_Back at the Visord Warehouse_

All of the remaining Visoreds were about ready to turn in when they heard:

"I AM NOT A FUCKING BOY, ASSHOLE!"

Shinji sighed and got up, "Ah, man, what the hell are those two doing?"

"You better go find out, Shinji," Love called, "Before Hiyori has another incident like in Tokyo and we all know that ended, right?"

All the Visored shuddered at the memory of the riot Hiyori had caused when she got drunk and started a bar fight when the bartender thought she was a boy.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she behaves," Shinji replied, walking out the door.

Ichigo cursed as he took another swing at one of the flying furies that harried him from the air. The furies were meant to teach him how to fight in the air by forcing him to fight on their terrain. The furies were interesting to look at, they had small helmets on their small, bald heads and while they had human like bodies, their wings made them distinctively inhuman. The screeched and hissed at him while dive-bombing him and whenever they did, small gouts of flame would erupt where they landed.

Ichigo snarled as he slashed at another fury, only for his sword to not reach it when it flapped out of range.

_Damn it, if only my sword were a bit longer, I - ! Wait a second..._

Ichigo glanced at the strip of cloth that extended from Zangetsu's hilt. He suddenly remembered a picture from one of his history books describing a European weapon called a flail. It had a spiked ball at the end of a chain with a handle attached to the chain.

**While I am not meant to be used as a flail, Ichigo, **Zangetsu's voice broke through his thoughts, **in the current situation it would be a good long-ranged attack.**

_Arigatou, Zangetsu-Osan!_

Ichigo grabbed the long strip of cloth and began spinning the massive cleaver. A fury swooped in from the right as Ichigo ducked and hurled Zangetsu from the strip of cloth. He cleaved the fury in half, blood showering on his clothing as the creature shrieked its final breath. Grinning, Ichigo looked at the furies who shrieked in rage at him for destroying one of their kind.

Hiyori and Lisa fought with Kratos while Ichigo fought off the furies. He was able to counter both their strikes with one blade to each sword. Kratos grunted: their strength was impressive, yes, but hardly impressive enough to use the full level of the Blades of Chaos against. Hiyori and Lisa snarled as they threw strike after strike at the white-skinned warrior, but every time he seemed to know where they would be before they were there. Such a pain in the ASS!

Finally, they both backed off, panting slightly. Kratos did not even look winded as he stared down the two, "Well, at the very least you two know to move and how to think in a fight," he commented.

Lisa stood, still breathing hard, "Thank you, I suppose; but you must know we were not fighting at our full power."

Kratos raised an eyebrow at the seemingly emotionless woman, "I would have been disappointed if you were."

"Heh, yeah, and you're not bad either," Hiyori climbed to her feet and looked at the baldy who had held one of those big-ass blades right to her nose.

"Ah, Kratos-san," Urahara landed and strolled towards them, "how is everything going?"

Kratos walked to a small hill and looked down at Ichigo who only had one harpy left to deal with.

"The boy is good, I will admit that," he said, analyzing the new way the young man was using his Zanpakuto, "He adapts well and fights well. To be able to stand that close to me and still use the attack of his Zanpakuto shows an impressive amount of determination upon his part."

Urahara nodded then noticed that Lisa and Hiyori were tired and sweaty, "Ah, Lisa-san, Hiyori-san, I take it Kratos-san got a little bored training Ichigo, ne?"

Hiyori snorted, "Nah, I wanted to see what Baldy-san was made of; he isn't bad, I guess."

Lisa glanced down at Hiyori and shook her head at her cocky manner. _Luckily for us, he wasn't using nearly as much reiatsu, at least he wasn't using the amount he used on Ichigo._ Lisa shuddered as she remembered her blade clashing against Kratos' - she felt as if she was hitting a rock. There was no way she or any of the other Visords could stand up to him. Even if they did fight him, it would have to be all at once to even make a difference and even then it would be a barely-attained victory at best. This was someone they could **not** afford to have as an enemy, and he had not even shown the best of his abilities; granted, she and Hiyori weren't going hollow or releasing their Zanpakutos, but even so neither had he.

Taking a breath, she walked up to the hero, "Allow me to once again apologize for Hiyori's crass behavior - she is impulsive and violent at times."

Kratos facial expression did not change, "think nothing of it - I was getting bored watching the boy."

"Well, now, I think it's almost supper time," Urahara called to the two, Kratos half-turned and nodded; drawing the claws, he dismissed the final fury.

Ichigo stabbed his blade into the ground, panting; swinging Zangetsu around like that was tiresome on the arms.

"Oi, Kratos-sensei, what's up?" Kratos motioned him to follow.

"It's time to replenish your strength," Kratos responded.

Ichigo nodded, "By the way, I was impressed at the new way you are using your sword," Kratos commented as the two walked to the ladder.

"Thank you, sensei," Ichigo inclined his head; Kratos did not give out compliments without someone sufficiently earning them, "I got the idea from an old history book from school."

"Well, wherever you got it from, it was a good innovation," Kratos said leaping up into the dark hole at the top of the ladder.

"Yeah, thanks," Ichigo could feel himself getting stronger: the longer he stayed in this basement with Kratos, the more his powers grew. He grinned to himself_... besides, who knew fighting could be this much fun!_

Deep inside Ichigo's mind, buried beneath the outward exterior of Zangetsu, a pair of yellow eyes opened... **that's my king… Keep growing stronger and get me out of here so we can FIGHT!**

The Urahara household enjoyed a nice dinner; Urahara told Ichigo of the arrangements regarding Kon and his real body. Ichigo was at first a bit worried but calmed down when Urahara said he would watch him. Lisa and Hiyori were silent through the meal but each of them at time to time stole glances at the impassive white skinned warrior.

The front door to the store abruptly opened and someone walked in, "Oi, Hiyori, Lisa, what the hell are you two doi - AAAAAHHHHHHGGGGGHHHH!"

Hirako Shinji suddenly found a chain wrapped around his throat, a sharp kick to the back of his knee forcing him to the ground before he could even think.

The entire household plus Lisa and Hiyori were amazed at the speed with which Kratos had just moved.

"Who are you, intruder?" Kratos growled as he pushed his blade into the back of the lanky man's head.

"Um, Kratos-san, I don't think..." Urahara began when Hiyori - seeing a golden opportunity - grabbed a pair of scissors and a razor off a nearby table and advanced on the pair.

"Just hold him there while I teach this intruder a lesson, Kratos," Hioyri grinned, opening and closing the scissors as she advanced. Shinji, on the other hand, was - to put it kindly - panicked.

"HIYORI, DON'T YOU DARE! AGH... LET GO! LISA, HELP!"

"Hiyori, behave," Lisa rolled her eyes at the antics of the two.

"I don't wanna," Hiyori mumbled as Kratos released Shinji and put the blade back on his back, "Besides, I think Shinji looked funny bald; you remember the time Aizen shaved him, don't you?"

Lisa almost choked on her rice, Shinji looked ashamed, Kratos looked curiously back between the short blond girl and the now crying lanky blond man. Mentioning the bald incident was the signal in any situation for Shinji to start swearing vengeance on Aizen and for Hiyori to start busting her gut laughing.

"My hair," Shinji sniffed, "my beautiful, majestic hair...! Aizen, YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!"

"What are you babbling about? There is nothing wrong with being bald. Hair only gets in a warrior's way when he fights," Kratos sat calmly back down.

"You're already bald so it doesn't matter for you," Shinji sniffed, "I, on the other hand, take great pride in my hair - it is reminiscent of glorious sunshine... etc."

Shinji went into a long rant about hair and how it was essential until Hiyori smacked him with her sandal and told him to shut up about his stupid hair.

After dinner, Kratos grabbed Ichigo and jumped down into the basement again.

"He's... really serious about pummeling that kid, isn't he?" Hiyori stared as the sounds of battle started coming from the basement again.

"Yes... yes, he is," Urahara sweat-dropped slightly, "I believe his philosophy is to go until one drops then sleep and do it all over again."

"Huh... tough," Lisa stated pulling out one of her dirty magazines and reading.

"Yeah, well, come on: we gotta going," Shinji stated heading for the door.

"See ya, Kisuke," Hiyori said, punting Shinji through the door.

"Farewell, Urahara," Lisa simply said, shaking her head at the two bickering fools.

"Aww, maaaan," Ikkaku grumbled, "why the hell do we have to be the ones to get this soul?"

"Shut it, Ikkaku," Zaraki Kenpachi replied, glancing at his 3rd seat, "this soul's got about a new captain's level spiritual pressure so there's a good chance for a fight; that being the case, I don't wanna hear your bitching."

"Shut it, Pinball-Head!" Yachiru said from her perch on the captain's shoulder.

"Tch," Ikkaku rolled his eyes, "sure, whatever."

"Come on, keep calm; in fact, you were to blame for that one," Yumichka flicked his hair out of his eyes as the group moved to the last known location of the spiritual pressure that had all the captains in a tizzy. It puzzled Yumichka to no end: why were the captains and even the Captain Commander so interested in what happened in the 80th and now sending a captain and the three top people in his squad to find a similar pressure? _Oh, what does it matter_, thought the bowl cut narcissist 5th seat of the eleventh.

The four Shinigami finally arrived at the coordinates where the pressure was last detected. It looked like an almost finished construction site, a single stone arm was set straight upwards besides a house that had a fireworks platform in the back and a long tower-like structure beside it. Suddenly, a well dressed woman appeared in front of the group.

"Hey, Kenpachi, what the hell you doing in my front lawn?"

The woman directed her question at the big captain who grinned, "Yo, Kukaku, what's up?"

"Uh," Ikkaku looked at the well-endowed woman in front of him, "you know that woman, Taichou?"

"Yeah - Yachiru and I bunked here before we became a part of Soul Society," Kenpachi grinned at his 3rd seat.

"My, my, she is quite beautiful; such a lovely form...", Yumichka commented.

"Heh, compliments'll get you nowhere with me, kid," Kukaku took a drag from her pipe and grinned, "so, where is that little pink ball of energy, uh?"

"HIIIIIII, Mega Booby-chan!" Yachiru waved at the woman from Kenpachi's shoulder.

Kukaku grimaced, "How many times do I have to tell you, Yachiru-chan, don't call me that...!"

"So," she continued, glancing back at the grinning captain of the eleventh, "I take it this isn't a social call."

"Nope," Kenpachi smiled, "we're here for that soul that was pumping out reiatsu here last night."

Kukaku raised an eyebrow, "Oh, you mean my new hired help that's helping me redecorate my place?"

"Redecorate, you say?" Yumichka wondered out loud, "I wonder if he has a sense of aesthetics like me."

"Spare me, Yumichka, one of you is enough," Ikkaku grinned at his suddenly flustered friend.

"Heh, why don't you ask him yourselves?" Kukaku turned and motioned them to follow, "he'll be back soon with some supplies I ordered in town."

"Eh, why not," Kenpachi said, sitting down on Kukaku's porch, "don't suppose you got anything frosty around here, eh?"

Kukaku looked annoyed at him, "Oi, I'm the housekeeper, not the bartender, big boy."

The group waited for about half an hour when Ikkaku noticed a bucket of water that was close to the house. He glanced at it, nothing strange he was just bored. Then he began to notice something out of place. Every few seconds the water would ripple staring from the middle outwards. Now, Ikkaku had never been the bookish type but he had read somewhere on his last mission to the human world that it was motion that caused ripples in water. But the odd thing was nothing was touching the bucket. It was just sitting there rippling all by itself.

Ikkaku put one foot on the ground from where he had been sitting and glanced at the bucket; every time the water would ripple he would feel a small tremor in the ground. The tremors kept on getting bigger and bigger until Ikkaku could feel them from where he was sitting.

"Uh, Taichou," Ikkaku said, a slight note of uncertainty in his voice.

Suddenly, everyone present felt a slight tremor in the earth then it was repeated again and again and again, and slowly increased in strength. Yumichika and Ikkaku were on their feet, hands on their blades when they both saw something that made both their eyes widen.

Coming down the avenue where they had just been was another stone arm like the one on the side of the house. Only it was moving. Moving slowly, but still _moving_. None of the four Shinigami could see it properly yet, seeing as how it was still hidden by some houses and trees.

"Ah, here he comes," Kukaku grinned at the shocked looks on the faces of the Shingami. It took a lot to surprise someone like Zaraki Kenpachi but even he couldn't stop his mouth opening in a little bit of shock when around the final bend came a man with the entire statue of the arm on his back. In his hands he held two thick ropes that were attached to the wrist of the statue to keep it from falling off. Every time he took a step, his foot cracked the ground beneath it.

The man himself had to be at least eight maybe nine feet tall. His frame was that of a giant, his arms were huge like tree trunks. Muscle stood out on his arms and back like whipcords as he walked the final distance to the side of the house and slowly lowered the statue into place.

"Wow," was the only thing Ikkaku could think of to say as the massive man laid the statue to earth with a resounding thud. Standing to his full height he released the ropes and stretched his massive limbs. Snapping and popping could be heard as his limbs relaxed and the giant sat down with his back to the statue.

"Thanks, Herc," Kukaku called from the deck, "you can call it a day. By the way, there are some Shinigami here who wanna see ya."

"Ah, thank you very much, Kukaku," the giant replied rising to his feet.

"**Damn**, you're huge," was Ikkaku's first words, "how the hell did you get so damn tall?"

"I ate a healthy breakfast," the large man said and laughed, "So, what can I do for you, Shinigami?."

"Well, now," Kenpachi said, rising from his spot on the porch and walking towards the giant, "I never thought I'd be around long enough to see the day when I met someone bigger than me. What's your name, pal?"

"Hercules. I do not have a last name," he responded. Hercules looked the spiky haired Captain up and down. Hercules knew a warrior when he saw one, and this captain was definitely high up in the Shinigami hierarchy if the feel of his reiatsu was anything to go on.

"Eh, been there," Kenpachi said, stopping in front of the huge man that he actually had to look slightly upwards to look in the eye, "I gave myself the name Zaraki Kenpachi, Zaraki because of the district I'm from and Kenpachi because I am the strongest Shinigami of my generation."

Hercules grinned slightly, "the strongest, you say? Well, now," he said, flexing his massive hands, "I would truly enjoy putting that to the test."

Kenpachi grinned back, reaching for his sword but Hercules raised one of his hands and stopped him, "but as you can plainly see, I am without a weapon at the moment so I would be at a slight disadvantage, Zaraki Kenpachi."

"Uh," Kenpachi looked clueless for a second, "oh, yeah, well, that sucks. I guess we'll just have to get a real weapon for ya, now, won't we."

Hercules looked curiously at the Captain, "And how would I go about doing that?"

"You come with us and we'll find a weapon that suits you." Ikkaku began.

Hercules smiled at the short bald man, "and what do I have to do in return?"

Yumichka, who had his jaw on the floor at seeing the massive display of strength of Hercules, finally picked it up off the floor, "well, you see, you have enormous potential to become like us - a Shinigami."

Hercules looked thoughtful for a few moments, "Hmm... tell me one thing, though: what does this job entail? Do I get to fight much?"

Kenpachi grinned, "You bet your ass you do!"

Hercules smiled broadly, "Heh. Count me in, then. Just allow me to say farewell to Lady Kukakku, she was gracious enough to allow me to stay here for a while so I must at least say thank you."

All three Shinigami nodded when suddenly Ikkaku looked around, "Hey, where's Yachiru-fuko-taichou?"

Suddenly, a bright ball of pink appeared on Hercules' shoulder, "Hahahahah, ne, ne, Ken-chan, I'm taller than everyone, now!" the adorable lieutenant of the eleventh division sat happily on Hercules' left shoulder. Hercules just now noticed the little girl and lifted one giant hand around the little one and set her back on the ground, still smiling, "careful, little one: I once snapped a lion's neck with these shoulders of mine. Now, where's Lady Kukakku?"

"No need to look for me, Herc, I heard," the Shiba matron leaned against the doorway, "so you're off to become one of them, eh?"

Hercules' smile turned a bit sad, "I'm sorry, I know how you feel about them but perhaps I can achieve something good out of this. You know that I seek to become a better man than I have been. This is the second chance I have wanted."

"Tch. Yeah, sure, whatever. Just don't forget to come visit me every once in a while, got it?" Kukaku stared at the big lug with a slight hint of affection in her eyes. _He's got a good soul_, she thought as she watched them leave she just hoped it lasted in the Gotei 13.

To say that the group returning to Soul Society drew a few stares would have been an understatement. After all, an almost ten-foot tall giant tends to draw a few stares.

"So, Hercules-san," Yumichka began.

"Please, call me Hercules; I could never get used to these damn honorifics," Hercules said with a laugh.

"Ah, thank you; I was just wondering if you have any family around here."

At face value the question seemed innocent enough, but there were ulterior motives behind it.

Hercules was oblivious to the deviousness in the question, "I do not think I have any family here in this plain of existence; even if I do, Yumichika, then I have not met them yet."

'…_okay, so he doesn't know or doesn't care about this guy from the 80th, _Kenpachi thought, _'well, best not to push it right now - interrogation is the 2nd squad's job, anyway.'_

"Oi, Hercules, did you mean it or were you joking when you said you broke a lion's neck with your bare arms?" Ikkaku asked as they neared the gates.

"Oh, I wasn't joking, Ikkaku," Hercules said with a smile, "that lion was probably the most fierce animal I have ever fought - Nemean Cestus; it even gave me these," Hercules pointed at the claw marks across his broad chest and arms, "yeah, that big cat was one tough bitch."

The group had finally made it to the gates when suddenly a shadow appeared over them.

Ikkaku sighed, "Ah, here we go..."

The group had to jump back to get out of the way of the massive Jidanbo. Landing with a crash, the giant's eyes appraised the newcomer in surprise.

"Oi, Zaraki-Taichou," Jidanbo roared, "is this guy the one you were bringing back?"

"Yeah, that's him, ya big monkey. Now, would ya open the door for us?" Kenpachi was getting antsey: the feel of Herc's reiatsu on the way back was eating at his self-control. It just begged to be attacked to be mutilated and this guy's reiatsu was already at low captain level. With time and a little training' he would be a great fight so why couldn't this giant ape go any faster instead of lecturing the guy on 'house rules' or whatever!

"...so that's the way we do things around here... I see."

Hercules stared at the giant for second, "hey, come here for a sec: I got something to tell ya."

"Hm what's tha…ITAI,ITAI,ITAI,ITAI…"

Hercules grabbed the giant's ear in one hand shouted into it, "I DO NOT TAKE ORDERS FROM A TWENTY FOOT TALL APE - GOT IT!"

Jidanbo managed to get his ear back and stared angrily at the newcomer, "WHAT WAS THAT! YOU LOOKING FOR A FIGHT, BUDDY!"

Hercules was already flaring his own reiatsu, "BRING IT, YOU OVER-GROWN MASTERDON!"

Ikkaku and Yumichka stared as the two were exchanging insults and Jidanbo grabbing his axes off his back, "talk about immature."

Hercules slammed his fists together, "You ready, pal? I am gonna take that axe shove it down your THROAT!"

Jidanbo laughed, "HA! You may have good reiatsu, but you ain't even got a weapon! What're you gonna do, spit on me?"

Hercules grinned, "I ripped the Nemean lion limb from limb with my bare hands; it seems this time, however, the lion is a big ape."

"Oi, captain," Ikkaku called, "should we break this up? We can't have him dying on us before we get to the -"

"Just shut up and watch," Kenpachi replied as the two get ready to tango, "besides, I like the feel of that guy's reiatsu."

Hercules began pushing his reiatsu into his limbs as the giant prepared to strike. He really didn't know how to channel it per say: Venus had told him to think of it like the magic he had used when he had been the god of strength. Well, that was easy enough and soon he had gotten the concept down pat.

Jidanbo swung down at Hercules, but the latter didn't even try to move...

CRASH

A cloud of dust exploded around the two obscuring the four shinigami's vision as they watched, "Tch, that bastard isn't coming out, is he?" Ikkaku commented, "Jidanbo is pretty tough."

As the dust settled, however, something far different from Ikkaku's predictions appeared.

_Hercules had caught the axe in both hands._

The eleventh squad members were surprised, except for perhaps Kenpachi who grinned as he watched Hercules tighten his grip on the giant's axe.

"Uh... what the hell?" Jidanbo said, shocked that anybody could stop his axe apart from the Gotei 13.

"Heh," Hercules grunted; granted, the big ape was strong - however...

Hercules took one giant step, the ground splintering underneath him as he pulled with all of his might, Jidanbo suddenly being yanked forward as Hercules hurled him all over his shoulder and onto the ground.

"Damn it," Jidanbo shouted as he rose from the ground, "where did you - !"

Jidanbo's eyes widened as he saw Hercules running full tilt at him and leaping right at his face. The giant guardian of the north gate of Soul Society raised both axes but was still pushed back as the blow nearly broke his axes in half.

Hercules jumped back and charged his reiatsu again when suddenly the giant raised his hand, "wait!"

"What gives? You giving up?" Hercules lowered his arms.

"You are strong, stranger; may I at least have your name? It is not often that I am presented with a challenge such as you," Jidanbo said, grasping the hand and rising from one knee.

"My name is Hercules," the giant said, walking up to the Jidanbo and offering him a hand, "do not be ashamed of defeat, my friend, for as long as the soul and will to fight remain unbroken, there is no lasting defeat."

Jidanbo nodded and smiled down at him, "I thank you for your kind words; now I shall open the gate for you."

"Yumichka, send a Hell Butterfly to the Soutaichou and tell him we've got the new recruit and are on our way," Kenpachi said quietly while Jidanbo was raising the gate.

"Hai, Taichou," the 5th seat responded.

Kenpachi and Hercules took a walk once they were all inside; Yumichka and Ikkaku left saying they were going to go relax somewhere. Hercules looked impressed at all around him, and many Shinigami were looking very impressed by him.

Kenpachi looked at Hercules' awed expression and grinned, "Yeah, I know: it's a lot to take in but you get used to it after a while."

Hercules continued to look all around him at the monolithic structures of Soul Society, "a striking contrast, I see..."

"Uh," Kenpachi grunted, "What's that…?"

"Oh, nothing, just talking to myself," Hercules smiled, "it's just that it seems so different here than it does in the districts."

Kenpachi gave Hercules a general tour of the divisions although he specifically avoided showing him where the 12th division was. When Hercules asked him about it, Kenpachi had looked at him seriously and said, "Unless you want to end up floating in some experiment tank, stay the hell outta that place!"

Hercules half-nodded and decided not to press him on it further, although he made a mental note to stay away from all 12th division members. Finally, the two stopped in front of the first division, "and this here is the first division. Old-Man Yama is the boss around here so try and be on your toes, if you know what I mean."

Hercules wondered what sort of man this Captain-Commander would be and nodded.

Once they got inside, they advanced to the office of the Soutaichou.

_Inside the Office_

Captain-Commander Yamamoto had heard the news from a hell butterfly sent by 5th seat Yumichka Ayasegawa, that his captain was accompanying the new soul reaper to his office. The old general had called his two old students to be present at this meeting. He had gone over the data presented by the communications officer again and again and had decided that it would be foolish if not outright dangerous for anyone but himself or his two students to fight the 80th killer as the ranks were now calling him.

"Hey, Yama-Jii," said Shunsui who had his hat over his eyes, "they're here, aren't they?"

Yamamoto nodded and Ukitake said, "Yes, that's Kenpachi, alright. And who is this with him? His reiatsu certainly is impressive."

Abruptly all three men felt a small tremor in the floor as the new soul approached. When the large double doors were opened all three Shinigami were shocked to see the size of the man. Even Yamamato's eyes opened at the sight of the massive person walking by the side of the 11th squad captain.

"Soutaichou," Kenpachi said, inclining his head slightly.

"You may return to your division, Zaraki-taichou," Yamamato stated.

Kenpachi smirked, "Sure, see ya around," he said, clapping Hercules on the back.

"You too," Hercules responded.

"Welcome to Soul Society. I am Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni Soutaichou of the Gotei 13."

Hercules bowed, tilting his body forward, "My name is Hercules I am pleased to make your acquaintance. And please, just call me Hercules."

"We have much to discuss, Hercules," Yamamoto stated, sitting back down in his chair.

"Yes, it seems we do," the giant replied, sitting down on the floor since he was fairly certain no chair in the room could hold him.

"As you surely know by know, I am the Captain of the first division; you have been summoned here because you possess unnaturally high reiatsu reserves. You have the potential to become a powerful shinigami if not a captain with the power you possess."

"I… well, thank you, Captain, I am honored," Hercules responded, inclining his head, "I am curious, however, as to what a shinigami actually does; I heard from Captain Zaraki that Shinigami fight, but…" Hercules trailed off in slight confusion.

Yamamoto nodded, "We shinigami exist to protect the balance between the Seireitei and the Hollow world of Hueco Mundo."

"Hollows, you say?" Hercules asked in slight confusion.

"Ah," Ukitake stepped forward, his bookish nature coming to the forefront, "A hollow is a creature created when the chain a fate on a plus soul is completely disintegrated. It becomes soulless and violent with an incurable hunger for the energy that normal souls and human souls give out."

"I see," Hercules replied, scratching his chin, "So what do they look like?"

"Enough," Yamamoto said tapping his cane on the ground, "If you agree to become a Shinigami and join the Gotei 13, you will be taught about our enemies by a ranked officer. I highly doubt you would wish to attend the academy at your age."

Hercules laughed, "I imagine I would be a little intimidating to anyone who tried to teach me. Besides, I have been a warrior nearly all my life so I know how to handle myself in a straight fight."

Hercules then looked a little more seriously at the three top captains, "Then again, I am guessing that a straight fight with my bare hands wouldn't get me very far in this place, yes?"

"Bingo," Shunsui chuckled, "You might be able to account for a good many Shinigami, but against a captain brute power isn't enough."

"Ha! So it's back to training school for me, I take it?" Hercules slapped, his knee heartily.

"Hai, I am afraid it is, at least until you manifest your own Zanpakuto," Yamamoto replied.

"Well, then, when do I start?" Hercules said rising to his feet.

"A moment, if you please: there is something else we would like to ask you," Ukitake said. Hercules glanced at the white-haired captain and noted the serious look in his eyes.

"Well, now, this sounds serious," Hercules sat back down and stared at the captains.

"Hai - it is," Ukitake replied, "you see, only a month ago…"

_Long explanation later..._

Hercules sat silently, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration; looking at him, one might think you were looking into a dark well too deep to see the bottom.

"So you think I am in some way related to what happened in the 80th district?" Hercules said, looking up.

"The similarities between your reiatsu and the reiatsu of the 80th killer are too close to be ignored," Yamamoto stated plainly, "Although the captains and the Council of the 46 agree the differences in your reiatsu clears you of any suspicion of the deed."

"Well, thank you for that much..." Hercules answered, his brows furring again in thought.

"Do you have any idea of who this might be?"Ukitake asked, "The resemblances to your reiatsu signature indicate he is familiarly related to you."

"Hmm..."

Hercules grunted, "To be honest, I have so many half-siblings that narrowing it down could be difficult," Hercules glanced up, an embarrassed look on his face, "you see, back in my world my father was…"

"Wait, what do you mean 'your' world?" Yamamoto asked, his own brows furrowing in consternation.

"Oh. I would have thought he had already told you," Hercules said, a surprised look on his face.

"Who?" Shunsui inquired.

"The King, who else? After all, it was he who sent me here."

The room grew so quiet one could have heard a pin drop...

And that's a wrap on this chapter!

Now, I know I'm taking it slow at the moment, but there are many things I'd like to fit into these scenes so please bear with me.


	7. Chapter 7

"Well... that was interesting," Ukitake sat with his old teacher Yamamoto and his fellow captain Shunsui Kyoraku. They had just finished their interview with the giant Hercules, and it wasn't that the big man had been uncooperative that had all three of them sitting here in shock: the incredulousness of all three captains was due to the fact that the tale they had been told was almost too fantastic to believe… and yet. Either all three of them had been faced with the greatest liar of all time, or the man had actually been telling the truth. And that possibility was more frightening than any of the other possibilities.

"I never knew you had such a gift for understatement, Ukitake," Kyoraku said as he fingered his bamboo hat in both hands.

"Oh, I have my moments," Ukitake said with a chuckle, his hand rubbing the back of his head.

"Even so," Shunsui went on a little bit more grimly, "if he was telling the truth then we are in for one serious fight when this Kratos decides to drop in for tea."

Yamamoto nodded, agreeing with his subordinates' sentiments.

_Flashback_

"_Do you mean to tell me," Yamamoto said, opening one eye and staring very hard at the soul in front of them, "that the Soul King himself sent you to us?"_

_Hercules looked bewildered at the sudden change in atmosphere in the room. _

"_Well, yes; why do you ask? Is that bad," the giant asked._

"_Well, no, not exactly," Ukitake said slowly._

"_The Soul King, my old teacher, has not been seen in Soul Society for nigh on 2,000 years since he and his family retired to a different dimension," Yamamoto replied._

"_Oh," the giant said rather dumbly._

_Hercules then just shrugged his shoulders, "Well, I do not pretend to know all the ways or motives of the gods: what they do is their business and it is not for mere mortals to question the ways of the gods."_

"_Sound judgment and good philosophy," Yamamoto replied, "but even so, a fantastic a claim such as that would have to be verified," Hercules sighed, "I suppose I could tell you what he looked like; would that be enough?"_

_Yamamoto raised one eyebrow, "You saw him yourself?"_

"_Yes," Hercules closed his eyes, "I recall him wearing a white robe similar to the ones you wear with a string of prayer beads in one hand and an enormous black and white reaping scythe in the other. He wore a demon mask that covered his face and his eyes were yellow._

_Yamamoto closed his eyes again and sighed, the description matching everything he knew of his old master, "That is my old teacher. What did he say to you?"_

"_I remember he said, "Do you wish for another chance at life?" I said yes and he told me of this place and its comings and goings. He told me that I would undoubtedly be approached by Soul Society to become one of them. He told me not to refuse them because my strength would aid his sons in the coming war."_

_All three captains' heads shot up at that, "War?"_

"_What do you mean?" Ukitake said standing from his seat, "Who is it?"_

"_Now, now, calm down, I don't know," Hercules replied, holding both of his large hands in a submissive gesture. "All he said was something about Vasto Lordes stirring in Hueco Mundo or something along those lines. Does that mean anything to you all?"_

_Yamamoto stared hard at the giant; he was telling the truth, or at least the truth as far as he knew it._

_Ukitake and Shunsui did not like the way this conversation was starting to turn and this stuff about Vasto Lordes stirring in Hueco Mundo was not exactly a pleasant thought, either._

"_Sit down, both of you," Yamamoto ordered. The two captains composed themselves and sat back down._

"_Did he say nothing else?" the Commander asked._

"_Not to me, at any rate," Hercules said with a grin, "he might have said something else to the one you're so hyped up about; you know, the one whose reiatsu signature almost matches mine. That's more than likely one of my numerous half-siblings," Hercules again looked embarrassed, "you see, my father - while being the King of the gods - was rather licentious in his ways,"_

"_Wait, wait, wait one minute!" Shinsui said, his eyes coming full open, "your father was the king of the gods?"_

"_Of my world, yes," Hercules answered, "you see, when the gods overthrew their parents, the Titans, the three greatest of the gods drew lots for the three greatest realms of the world."_

_Seeing the blank looks he was getting, Hercules elaborated, "Those three realms are the sky, the sea and the underworld or what you people would call hell. Zeus, my father, won the kingship over the sky, his younger brother, Poseidon, won mastery over the sea and the final brother, Hades, was made lord over the underworld. Understand that in our world there were no rules about whom gods could fall in love with. If a god fell in love with a mortal woman, they could keep seeing each other for as long as that god saw fit; well, as long as they kept it quiet, and really nobody could complain except when a mortal hero was born."_

"_Mortal hero?" Yamamoto asked._

"_Like me," Hercules said, thumping his chest, "I am the son of Zeus king of the gods, where do you think my massive strength comes from?" he asked with a grin._

"_I see," Yamamoto said thoughtfully, "so the blood of gods grants certain abilities, correct?"_

"_That's right," Hercules nodded, "now, it can vary from hero to hero because there were different gods with different attributes like Helios, god of the sun, who would grant his suns unnatural strength and near perfect physical form, Aphrodite - Goddess of Love - who would grant her children magnificent beauty, and Poseidon would grant his children some of his own mastery over the sea."_

"_So you're telling us that in your world there are such things as half-gods?" Ukitake asked._

"_Well, we call ourselves demi-gods, but yes, that is correct," Hercules said, "and as I said before, my father was known for his… erm, less than faithful ways to his wife, Hera - the goddess of fidelity. All of her children were gods themselves like Ares, the God of War, so as you can imagine, this hero might be any number of heroes. If I saw him, I might be able to help you because I knew all my half-brothers, but without that…" Hercules shrugged helplessly._

"_Well, we managed to obtain a partial description of him," Shunsui said._

"_That might be helpful; what does he look like?" Hercules asked._

"_He has white skin and a red tat-"_

"_WHITE SKIN!" Hercules shouted, jumping to his feet a look of anger mixed with fear clouding his face, his reiatsu spiking furiously . He abruptly turned away and seemed driven by an insane emotion, his hands clenching and unclenching. All three captains stood, looking confused - Shunsui and Ukitake had their hands on their swords just in case._

"_Are you alright, Hercules?" Yamamoto said, his hand gripping his staff harder than normal, ready to bare the steel of Ryuujin Jakka._

_Hercules mastered himself and turned back towards them, "Yes… I-I'm sorry, I was not master of myself for a moment, I just… I never thought… why would… him of all damned heroes, Why? Why him!_

"_So you know him," Yamamoto said, motioning the group to sit once again._

"_Oh, yes, I know him," Hercules stated through gritted teeth, "I know him as the Slayer of Gods."_

_All three captains sat in shock as Hercules sat back down and continued, "That man's name is Kratos and he alone of all my brothers is the most feared, for in the cause of vengeance he murdered Ares and claimed his throne on Olympus for himself. Had such a thing happened before? No, this is why he was feared; he destroyed what should have been immortal. He shook the very foundations of Mt. Olympus and finally brought them crashing to earth."_

"_Do you mean to say - !" Yamamoto began and Hercules nodded, "Yes. He is the one who destroyed the gods of my world and brought my world… to an end."_

_The captains stared in shock at the revelation that a man ended a world._

"_Although," Hercules said, looking down at the floor, "I suppose I cannot blame him."_

"_What?" Ukitake asked, rising from his seat, "why? How can you not blame someone for ending an entire reality, an entire world?"_

_Hercules looked up and his face turned sad, "because it truly was not his fault that his soul became as hard as steel. He was caught in a fate so terrible that lesser men would have broken under such trials as that man went through. I will tell you now and I will not take it back that that man has been through more hell than anyone in this room."_

_Hercules looked down at the floor again, "After all, what man can forget being tricked by a god into killing his own wife and child, into fighting his own brother to the death and being betrayed by the very gods he swore to serve again and again?" Hercules looked up, his face hard, "any lesser man would have given up and resigned himself to death. But not him. Never him. He clung to the tenant to which he was born. Spartans die before they surrender, death before dishonor, never ceases to fight until the crown of victory is in your hand."_

_Flashback End_

Yamamoto sat, thinking over the information they had received and he did not like it one bit; the 80th killer was without a doubt this Kratos, but the question that was burning in his mind now was why? Why would his old sensei give this man an opportunity in this world to wreak havoc? What could this mean, was their world the next one to end? Or was this a test to see if they would stand firm against the tide that now threatened the walls of Soul Society?

Yamamoto gripped his cane harder: this man, this Kratos, could it be possible that he has retained some kind of power from his world? The power of the God of War! If so, Yamamoto did not want to think about the consequences of that.

"What do you want to do, Yama-Jii?" Kyoraku Shunsui asked, his face worried.

"Should we keep this from the other captains?" Ukitake Jushiro wondered out loud, "but how can we justify not telling them? I hate to think of what would happen if we lost one of our captains to this man and if he had known what we know…"

Ukitake shook his head, the implications obvious; Shunsui nodded at his old friend.

"It's a tough choice either way," Shunsui said, putting his hat back on his head.

"I have decided," Yamamoto intoned standing, "I will personally inform all of the captains but they will be forbidden to tell their subordinates or make it generally known what this Kratos is or what he is capable of. We will tell them to keep their subordinates away from any area Kratos may choose to assault. We can only hope that his intentions aren't completely hostile towards us."

"Agreed," his two students said together.

Sajin Komamura was occupied with writing reports in his office when he received a knock on the door.

"Come in," he called.

His lieutenant, Iba Tetsuzaemon, knelt in the doorway, "pardon me, Taichou, but there is someone here to see you. He is waiting in the barracks training ground."

"I see. Very well," Komamura replied, "I will be there shortly."

Komamura never believed he would meet a man bigger than himself. Well, himself being a fox made it rather a moot point, but even so...

That was before he made it to the training grounds of his division and saw a man that was taller than any captain in the Gotei 13 and that included Zaraki and his spike hair. Of course, he also might have been surprised by what the man was doing: at the moment, a crowd of 7th squad members were watching him work on the weights he himself used. He was lifting slabs of metal that weighed almost seven hundred pounds, the slabs each weighed a hundred pounds and could be added to by a system of levers. The jaw-dropping thing was that Komamura couldn't feel him using any reiatsu to help himself lift that amount of weight and he was still lifting it.

The seventh squad members cheered for him and a few passed money around as there had been a few bets on the giant's strength, as he finished his final rep and set the weights back to earth.

"Impressive," Komamura stated as he joined the group; the seventh squad members all bowed and greeted him as strode over to them while the man simply looked at him: his face was of the handsome sort, Komamura supposed, at least according to human standards. His hair was short and brown, his eyes grey and small. Across his chest were the marks of some kind of animal's claws were visible.

"I take it you are the Captain of the Seventh squad, Sajin Komamura," the man stated, looking him up and down.

"That I am. Who might you be, stranger?" Komamura asked.

"Ah, my name is Hercules; I was told by your Sotaichou that I was to report to this division," the newly named Hercules said.

The squad members went back to their training routines and Komamura motioned for the giant to follow him back to the main barracks. While they walked, Hercules gave Komamura a scroll on which was detailed the Sotaichou's directive to train him in the Shinigami arts as it would be impractical to send a man to the academy.

"I see," Komamura said, "so... Hercules, was it? You are to join my squad?"

"Aye, sir, the Sotaichou decided I would be best suited to your squad and I have heard that your squad is one of the toughest besides the eleventh," Hercules responded with a smile.

"Hm, that we are," Komamura responded; although he did not like being compared to the battle-happy eleventh squad, he could understand that it was meant as a compliment.

"We are known as the heavy hitters of the 13 Court Guards: when we meet a tough opponent, we go right through them and then move on to the next one," Komamura stated with pride. Hercules laughed heartily, "Good! I enjoy using my own two arms on my opponents, and there is nothing as boring as trying to go along with some deep convoluted strategy. Hell, who needs strategy when these," Hercules indicated his own two fists, "will suffice?"

"True, but overconfidence in one's own strength has led to the downfall of many," Komamura stated as they walked together, "do not let pride in your own abilities make you look down upon others abilities."

"I will heed your advice," Hercules said, a far off look in his eyes, "ah, if only someone had told me those words years ago, I might not have met my end because of my pride."

"You still remember your lifetime?" Komamura asked, glancing at the giant.

"Aye, and that life will be a lesson to me and the example I will hold before my eyes before I look down on anybody again," Hercules stated solemnly.

"A wise thought, unfortunately I have paperwork that binds me to my desk. Iba!" Komamura called.

"Hai, Taichou," his sunglasses-wearing lieutenant appeared on one knee.

"Be sure to show Hercules around the barracks and introduce him to the rest of the division," Komamura said before flash-stepping away.

**Two days later in the human world**

Kratos watched Ichigo limp home after he had gotten through training him. The boy was impressive, his capacity for growth was unnatural, and in just three days the boy had mastered the attack of his Zanpakuto: _Getsuga Tenshou, huh, _Kratos smiled to himself while keeping his stoic Spartan exterior. Kratos glanced at the sky: it was nearing dusk but he felt no desire to sleep. Instead, as he gazed into the gathering dusk, he felt a different desire, the desire to hunt. While training, he had been forced to be inactive, confined to the cavern beneath Urahara's shop. It felt nice to be free of the confines of that cramped space.

He was also sure that he would never again be allowed to use it. Urahara had almost cried when he had seen the nearly destroyed state of his basement.

"_Uh, Kratos-san," Urahara stated in a slightly trembling voice as he surveyed the carnage, " Unless you intend on helping me rebuild my basement after you use it I really don't think I can ever let you use it again!"_

_Kratos stared at the man who seemed on the verge of tears, "Hmph. If you say so. I am going to see that Ichigo gets home safely; considering the state I left him in, the smallest hollow could destroy him."_

_Urahara turned and drew something from his sleeve, "well, if you insist on going out, then at least wear this."_

_He held a small black chain in his hand that looked like it was meant to be worn like a wristband._

"_What is it?" Kratos grunted, taking the small thing in his hand._

"_It's a limiter," Urahara explained, "it limits your reiatsu output to one-fifth of what you would normally have so humans won't sense and be affected by your power."_

_Kratos slid the thing around his left wrist and instantly felt the decrease in his reiatsu. _

"_Whenever you take it off, all the reiatsu that has been siphoned off will return to you so please be careful with it," Urahara warned as Kratos examined the chain on his wrist._

"_Very well," Kratos said, leaping up to the trapdoor that led out of the basement._

"_Now, then," Urahara said, turning back to the blackened and charred remains of his basement, "where do I start?"_

Luckily, Ichigo made it home and was taking a well deserved sleep. Kratos then noticed the lights of the city and decided to go and see this new world.

_One hour later_

Kratos was fascinated as he gazed upon a world that was not his but nonetheless intrigued him. Every kind of luxury or item he could imagine and that he had seen in a more drab form in the marketplaces he had walked was on display. People milled about unconscious of him or his walking among them.

There were so many things to see that he hardly knew what to see first or last. The nightlife in Karakura town was just getting started: the night was young, after all.

Then he sensed it; he forced himself to keep walking as if unaffected but he started to take a route to a more solitary place, a reiatsu signature following him from a distance. An almost imperceptible crack appeared in the stoic face of the Spartan warrior: whoever it was - he or she - was about to find out the folly of attempting to surprise a Spartan.

**POV Change**

Tia Harribel gazed down on the humans that milled about below her, heedless of her presence. The techniques that she and the other arrancars had been taught came in handy when scouting the human world.

Looking down from the skyscraper she sat upon, her green eyes narrowed as she caught sight of a strangely colored human walking along a riverbank in a park on the outskirts of downtown-Kakaura. The reiatsu he gave off sent a shiver down her spine.

_Such power_, she thought as the she eyed the man continuing on his way, oblivious to her presence, _you interest me, mortal. Who are you to posses such power, _her eyes narrowed as she saw him stop close to the river bank and sit Indian-style and seemed to be meditating.

_At the very least, _Harribel thought, _you will provide me with a decent meal._ Her finger hooked into the loop of her Zanpakuto that she kept on her back, slowly drawing it and spinning it into her hand. To catch one of this caliber, she was truly lucky and she shivered in delight at the thought of consuming such glorious reiatsu. Damn, this being's spiritual pressure had her licking her lips beneath the remains of her hollow mask that covered her neck and lower jaw.

Slowly descending from her perch, she kept herself a few feet of the ground so as not to alert this being to her presence. As she neared him, though, his spiritual pressure got more and more dense until she was only a few feet from him, her sword poised to strike. With a triumphant smile she lunged...

...only to have him disappear.

Harribel's eyes widened, then quickly she soinidoed away to avoid the two flaming blades that zipped through where she had been standing a moment before. Harribel appeared further down the bank, the oddly-colored human standing there with two burning blades in his hands. He was crouched like some predator waiting to strike, his hard grey eyes burning into hers. Harribel panted, glancing down she saw the two rips in her jacket; that had been too close, he had fooled her into thinking he was normal because he did not wear a black shinigami outfit. Harribel gritted her teeth, "Who are you?" She questioned.

The human in front of her did not respond; instead, he flared his reiatsu. Harribel's eyes widened in shock: had she known he possessed this level of reiatsu, she would not have tried to grab a quick snack. But she did not have time to think as the strange human shot forward, slamming into her blade with his burning sword. Harribel's arms groaned in protest as they were pushed to their limit trying to fight off his sword. Deciding that his physical strength was too great, she sonidoed behind him, trying to strike at his blind spot. Her blade met his second sword as he swiftly turned trying to slash her midsection in two.

Again Harribel was forced to Sonido to safety, panting; she watched as he slowly turned towards herm crouching in that low stance again. _Bastard, _she thought, _he is playing with me! I have to end this soon: I cannot face him here at my present level and if I do, Soul Society will know. _Harribel gritted her teeth in frustration and sheathed her sword; the strange human noticed her action and lowered his blades only by a fraction.

"You are strong, stranger." The human did not respond, but rather stood to his full height, his blades still in his hands.

"Forgive me, but I cannot fight you here," she said.

"Who are you?" the question was asked slowly.

Harribel cocked her head to one side, "it is considered polite to give ones name before asking for another's."

The strange human placed both blades on his back, "Kratos."

"Harribel, Tia Harribel," she answered. They stared at one another for a long moment, "Why did you not attempt to strike me when I sheathed my blade?" she asked.

Kratos' eyes narrowed and he turned his back to her, "I do not kill those who have lost their will to fight. Besides, I do not know you and asides from attacking me, you have done me no wrong."

Harribel raised one eyebrow, "Surely, you must know what I am."

Kratos grunted, "A hollow."

Harribel stared at him again, "you are not alarmed."

"You pose no threat to me, woman," Kratos said walking away.

Harribel's eyes narrowed as she watched him walk away before giving a small smirk, "You interest me... human."

"Maa, Aizen-Taichou, I assume you had a meeting with the Soutaichou, same as me," Ichimaru Gin walked beside his leader along with Tosen.

"I did indeed," Aizen replied with a hint of a fascinated smile on his face, "I trust your meeting with the Soutaichou was as interesting and enlightening as my own?"

"Oh, of course," Gin replied, "still, what I would like to know is what are you going to do? I would think you would be slightly put off by something like outside interference in our plans. And not only that by _Divine Royal _interference."

Tosen tensed slightly: Gin was Aizen's first pupil and therefore was privileged to speak more freely with their master but Aizen only smiled at Gin's question.

"I will freely admit that I am intrigued," Aizen replied, a thoughtful look crossing his face, "this incident proves one neither can nor should make theories without sufficient data. I had come to an entirely erroneous conclusion concerning the 80th district incident. I had hypothesized that it was the work of one of my failed experiments but I am relieved that it was not so."

Aizen tapped one finger against his cheek, "Still, I am more than interested in the actual culprit."

Tosen nodded, "A being that has already touched divine power and perhaps still wields it. A formidable advisory. We cannot approach this demigod lightly if that man Hercules is anything to go by."

"Nor will we," Aizen said; actually, Aizen was even more interested in the 80th killer than he let his subordinates know but was also interested in that man, Hercules, a giant with more strength than brains, but even with that handicap, that kind of raw strength coming from his heritage alone was quite intriguing. Still, someone who could bring down the legendary Jidanbo without any sort of formal Shinigami training was not someone to be taken lightly.

The fact that he and the 80th killer might be an answer for him specifically, an enemy that the Soul King himself had set against him, sent a shiver down his spine. That he was worthy of divine notice that his powers had finally been strong enough to cause even the Soul King to notice made him sigh in delight. Aizen knew that the activities he involved himself in could not remain secret forever and he had prepared for such contingencies. His Zanpakuto made that easier with its powers of illusion but Aizen knew down to the darkest pits of his black heart that the Soul King's eyes could not remain blind forever.

After all, he could not expect the true ruler of Soul Society to not see through his illusions …eventually.

"We will do nothing for the moment except proceed as planned," Aizen said with finality, "we will keep away from this man for the moment and observe. After all, as our beloved Soutaichou has decreed us to keep our subordinates away from this man, it would not be prudent to engage him directly."

"Hai," his subordinates replied.

"Lesse," Ichigo opened his window and stared out at the night sky just like old man Urahara had wanted.

"I've got one helluva bad feeling about this," Ichigo said with a grim expression on his face, looking out again at the city, "well, at least there is a nice breeze out tonight."

Suddenly, something sparkled in the distance and then a ball that seemed to be made of paper flew into his room and splashed against his wall, covering it in crimson liquid that looked oddly like blood.

"Wh-what the hell is that bastard doing to my room!" Ichigo wondered out loud as the liquid flowed down the wall, forming a message that read.

_Cometh immediately to the front of Urahara's Store_

"What the hell, that looks like some dying message someone would leave at the sight of a massacre! That had better wash off, damnit!" Ichigo shouted at the wall, then blinked as the liquid revealed something else, "Huh? More message?"

_P.S._

_Anyone who looks at this and thinks something normal like it's a dying message at the scene of a massacre…_

…obviously has no talent for comedy."

"Shut the hell up!" Ichigo yelled throwing his pillow at the wall.

Ichigo made sure his sisters were asleep before walking out the front door, "See you Yuzu, Karin, Pops." And with a determined look he boldly…

"GGGOOOOOODDDDDDD MMMMORNIIIIINGGG, IIIICCHHIIGOOO!"

...until he was forced to dodge his insane father trying to elbow drop him from the roof and ended up getting a face full of concrete.

"You were able to dodge that attack - you truly are my son."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

**Later at Urahara's store**

"Wow, this is so cool," Inoue Orihime clapped her hands as she stared at the massively reconstructed cavern beneath Urahara's store, "It's like a secret base."

"Really! I, Tessai, am deeply moved," a crying Tessai appeared in front of the young woman, "what a magnificent reaction!"

"Oh, it was nothing," Orihime said rubbing the back of her head.

"Oi, Ichigo," the voice belonged to Ishida Uryuu, "where is this supposedly badass teacher of yours?"

"The Hell if I know," Ichigo shot back, "Oi, Geta-Boshi (Hat n' Clogs), where the hell is Kratos-sensei?"

"Ah, Kratos-san should be here any moment," Urahara said, "I believe he is retrieving his favorite book from the library."

"Ah, his favorite book, I see… wait, Kratos-sensei has a favorite book?" Ichigo looked shocked.

"Yes. I think the title was something along the lines of _The Art of War _by Sun Tzu."

Ichigo sweat dropped, "I don't even want to imagine…"

"Imagine what?" Kratos said, appearing behind Ichigo.

"WWWAAAAGGGHHH," Ichigo nearly jumped out of his Shinigami outfit, "Dude, don't do that!"

"What?" Kratos replied cocking his head to the side.

"Heh, never mind," Ichigo said knowing he couldn't win in a fight against the man. His companions, on the other hand, were gazing at the large man with fascination. Uryuu couldn't believe the reiatsu the man was giving off, Orihime looked slightly frightened of the warrior in front of her - everything about him screamed danger. Chad was having the same thoughts, his recently found reiatsu senses screaming that this man was one he did not want to piss off.

"Yosh," Urahara shouted, getting everyone's attention, "Now listen up, people! I am going to give you instructions for getting into Soul Society…"

"…so you'll only have about four minutes to get through. Understood?"

The group simply stared at him as if he was crazy, "Do you wish for me to flay you alive?"

The simple question came from Kratos who had one eyebrow raised; Urahara raised an eyebrow and quickly snapped open a repaired fan. Kratos looked rather dumbfounded that he would go that far to preserve his fan, _get a new one already._ "Well, you see, that's as long as I can keep it open. If you go through it at your maximum speed and not doubt that you will reach the end, you'll make it."

"I see," Kratos said, narrowing his eyes at the man.

"I do not see thank you very much," Ishida protested, shoving his glasses back farther onto his nose, "what has our doubt got to do with anything?"

"Fool," Kratos said, rolling his eyes, "if you have doubt at the beginning of a battle, you have already lost half of it."

"Correct," Urahara said cheerfully, "now, here is the Senkai gate." Urahara made a weird motion as a ornamental gate opened before the group.

"Now don't forget, run as fast as you can _and don't look back."_

**After one long run with an irritating Quincy bitching about weird train like spirits...**

"Remind me to hit that idiot when we get back," Kratos commented to Yoruichi as he dusted himself off, "was there any reason to come hurtling out of the sky?"

"Well, we're here, anyway," Yoruichi said.

"Damn, that was messed up - this isn't what I signed up for," Kratos rolled his eyes at the Quincy's complaining; "I didn't think I would have to use my spare cape so soon."

Ichigo and Chad just stared as Uryuu pulled out a second cape and _elegantly _put it around his shoulders. Kratos raised one eyebrow and then shrugged; in all honesty, he did not want to know.

"Th-That freak... he brought a spare," Ichigo mumbled and Chad just grunted.

After walking for a while, Yoruichi led them to a spot where they met an old man sipping tea. Kratos was - to be brutally blunt - bored and bad things happen when a Spartan is bored. Usually what happens is the strongest thing closest to said Spartan gets attacked and mutilated…rather badly. In the meantime, the ghost of Sparta tried to meditate and commune with his Zanpakuto. Kratos found that while he did not particularly care for the three beings who had become his Zanpakuto, he found that it was rather a fitting fate for those who had stood up to him. To be forever bound to the one you had been defeated by, serve, live, fight, and when the time came, die side by side. The genius to this whole formula was the three spirits in his Zanpakuto were the three most self-absorbed and selfish Zanpakuto who only thought of themselves but now for survival's sake were forced to work together with the one being they all had a justifiable reason to hate completely. Kratos grinned to himself at the irony.

Suddenly, while Yoruichi was talking to the old man, the group heard the sound of hooves on the ground; again, rather suddenly, a man wearing a stupid pair of sunglasses bust through the door to the house the group sat in and the group was introduced to Ganju Shiba.

Of course this didn't go over with Kratos very well as Ganju and Ichigo hit it right off… erm, I mean tried to kill each other.

Trying to talk things over never went well with either of them so when Ichigo punched Ganju across the floor for getting in his face, Kratos knew they were going to be lifelong friends. _Wonderful. First, they have to get rid of the notion that they want to kill each other,_ Kratos mused, thinking back to the days when he had been a newbie and had struck up a similar relationship with another new recruit. The two of them had been total opposites and yet they found their skills complimented each other.

"What the hell did you hit me for, uh? You pickin' a fight?"

"That's totally my line! You bust in here and start getting on my case, you boar riding ape man!"

"Boar riding ape man?"

"Yeah!"

"What're you RETARDED!"

"No I ain't!"

"I got a name, dammit!"

"Is it Boar-ney or Boar-kinson!"

"What'd you say!"

"You heard me!"

Okay, by this time, Kratos was getting irritated, so he stood up, grabbed both of them amid their protests and dumped them outside, and then went back in and closed the door behind him.

"Oi, Kratos-sensei what the hell was that for!" Ichigo shouted from outside the door.

"Yeah, dude, not cool!"

"You were being too loud," Kratos said simply as the others just stared as he went back into his meditative trance, "get your bonding done out there but not where I can hear it."

Even the crickets stayed silent this time as the entirety of that district was treated to a massive double voiced, "WHAT!"

"So that's the gate where the Shinigami live, huh? Funny - the street looks way different from over here," Ichigo inquired, staring at the massive structure in front of them.

"Yep, but don't even think about…" Yoruichi began, not finishing in time for Ichigo to actually hear and charge the gate.

"Fool! We can't just assault the gate like that!" Yoruichi screamed after the orange haired Shinigam.

"Don't worry, I'll get him," Kratos said, walking after the young fool; before he had taken even ten steps, however, he saw a giant jumping down from the top of the gate, "ICHIGO, WATCH OUT!" he roared after his student.

Fortunately, Ichigo saw the big man coming and was able to hop back out of the way, "It's been a long time…"

Ichigo glanced up at the massive figure before him, "…since anyone tried to come through the gate of Pure Souls without a pass."

The giant Jidanbo stood before the young soul reaper, "long time since I've had a visitor."

The giant almost looked look a giant ape with a red fez and sideburns.

"I'll take good care of you, little boy."

Kratos stopped out of sight of the giant, he knew once he was seen all of Soul Society would be here in a minute. He could feel a few other shinigami, one of at least lieutenant level; well, now, that just wouldn't do to have lieutenant running off squealing to his Captains. Ares decided this would be a good moment to drop in, **what are we doing, waiting outside the - wow, that's one big ape.** Kratos rolled his eyes, 'no, you think?' 'Let's just see how well the boy plays his cards with this one,' he thought, folding his arms and leaning against the wall.

Kratos watched the boy defeat the giant handily; he sweat-dropped when the giant started crying over his axes. 'That is just plain sad to watch,' Ares readily agreed, **'so can we kill the idiot, already?' **Once again Kratos rolled his eyes: with Ares it was always kill this kill that. Then again, he was almost the same way so who was he to talk?

Kratos' thought was interrupted by the arrival of the captain; he instantly hid his reiatsu signature.

"Oi! Who the hell are you!" Ichigo shouted at the strange fox-faced man who just suddenly appeared in front of both him and Jidanbo.

"This ain't good," the fox-faced man continued to walk forward, "what do you think you're doing, Jidanbo? you're supposed to guard this gate, right?"

"Ichimaru-Taichou, forgive me but I lost so I have to open the gate," Jidanbo replied, shaking at what the captain might do.

"That's not quite right, Jidanbo-san," Gin said, continuing to smile with his hand on his sword, "when a gatekeeper loses," Gin drew his sword and swiped it at Jidanbo's left arm, a cut almost instantly appearing, "he is supposed to **die**."

Gin was forced to bring up his Zanpakuto as a massive cleaver that looked like a giant butter knife aimed to cut him in half top to toe.

The smile never left Gin's face but Ichigo was pissed, "what the hell do you think you're doing you sunavabitch!"

Yoruichi, who had finally managed to catch up to the group, thought 'that's my line.'

Ichigo pointed his sword at the still smiling captain, "Don't you come out afterward and expect to give orders, ya fox-faced bastard!"

"Any piece of shit that attacks an unarmed man without a second thought… is mine to kill!"

Gin, on the other hand wasn't phased, by Ichigo's threatening attitude, "What a funny kid. Ain't you scared of me?"

"Not one bit!"

"Oi, Ichigo, cut that out - we have to retreat for the moment," Yoruichi shouted at the orange-haired Shinigami.

While Ichigo argued with Yoruichi, Gin was gratified to find the one Aizen had told him about, _Ichigo... so, this is the one, huh?'_

"Hey," Gin interrupted the cat-Shinigami discussion, "your name is Kurosaki Ichigo, right?"

"Wait, you know about me?" Ichigo asked, a bit confused that he would be known by this weird fox guy.

"Oh... so it **is** you," Gin turned and walked a few steps away.

"Oi, where you think you're going? This fight just got started!" Ichigo shouted after him.

"All the more reason," Gin continued, "that I can't let you pass through here." Gin withdrew his Zanpakuto and held it at arm's length. It was a short sword more like a wakizashi than a true katana.

"What are you gonna do, throw that wakizashi at me?" Ichigo questioned, raising his sword once more.

_Wait a minute,_ Ichigo thought, his training with Kratos coming to mind, _there has to be a reason he walked away from me for a few feet. Kratos told me and old sandal hat has inferred that every soul slayer has different abilities… what if his is…_

"Shoot to kill, Shinsou," Gin suddenly spun and thrust his Zanpakuto at Ichigo. His sword's blade instantly extended to slam into Ichigo's cleaver and flinging him and Jidanbo out of the gate with resounding crash.

Gin, still smiling, walked up to the closing entrance and waved to the group, "Bye bye."

Chad, Uryuu and Orihime ran to see how Ichigo was while Kratos walked up to the door and placed one hand against it.

"Impressive," he muttered mostly to himself, "so that was a Captain," he turned to the black cat that was hissing in frustration, "did you know him or what division he was from?"

"Yes," Yoruichi replied, "Ichimaru Gin, Captain of the 3rd Division."

"The division known for its unusual Zanpakuto," Kratos muttered, "well, this looks like as good a spot as any."

Yoruichi eyed the Sparatan, "Good spot for what?"

"A demonstration," Kratos smiled.

_**Inside the Gate**_

"Ichimaru-taichou," Hisagi ran up to the third squad captain ahead of his small platoon, "My sincerest apologies that we are late."

"Eh, don't worry about it; while we're at it, though, why weren't you fellows here to begin with, hmm?" Ichimaru turned away from the gate, still wearing his fox-like grin as he addressed the guard patrol, "abandoning your post isn't gonna sit very well with the other captains, ya know."

"Hai," Hisagi looked ashamed of himself, "it's just we counted on Jidanbo-sama stopping them outside the gate. When we saw the gate open we hurried back as fast as we could," Hisagi explained."

"Hmm... well, I can accept that for now… I guess," Ichimaru was suddenly almost thrown into the 9th squad lieutenant when the gate behind him suddenly reverberated with a loud explosion.

The entire platoon including the captain and the lieutenant looked back at the gate with an expression of shock.

Then suddenly the gates were struck again and again from the outside and this time a tiny crack appeared in the center of the gate.

"Impossible," Hisagi gasped as the gate moved slightly inward with the next blow, "no one has ever managed to break down the Gate of white Souls!"

Ichimaru was also perturbed: while his mission to stop Ichigo from entering by way of the Gate of White Souls, no one he had seen out there could possibly have the strength to…!

This time he had to take a step backwards as part of the middle of the door almost seemed to cave in the middle if only slightly. Gin knew there was no way for him to take on anything that had the kind of strength necessary to pull **that** off.

A long, slender crack appeared, stretching out from the one that had already appeared; Gin drew his sword - orders or no orders, he could not be seen to be abandoning fellow shinigami when an enemy was before the gates of Soul Society itself. Not even Aizen's Machiavellian plots could save him from the Soutaichou's wrath if he did that.

This time there were multiple cracks stretching from the middle of the gate. The gate would fail; Gin no longer had any doubts about that.

"Ichimaru-taichou, what should we do!" Hisagi shouted at him from the entrance of the courtyard where he had ordered his men to retreat to.

"Alert the other captains along with the Soutaichou," Gin looked back and to Hisagi's shock was still smiling, "Looks like I am in for a serious fight, here."

Hisagi could only stare at the seemingly unflappable Captain of the 3rd squad for a long moment when…

Another strike finally shook him from his shock, "Go, now!" Gin shouted at him, for the first time raising his voice although Hisagi could not detect any hint of anger in the taichou's voice. No, only looking back on it would Hisagi be able to tell what the emotion in the 3rd squad captain's voice had been but at the moment he could only nod and haltingly issue orders to his men.

One by one they disappeared into shunpo, going as fast as they could toward the different divisions.

Hisagi looked back at the gate once more, not believing the cracked and splintered appearance of the once mighty gate.

He paused for one moment more: since he was the lieutenant, he had designated himself to go to the first division and could go farther with Flash Steps than any of his platoon mates…

A loud groaning sound and then a loud CRASH - Hisagi looked back one last time and shivered in terror: the gate was laying face-down, a cloud of dust expanding from where it fell. He couldn't see Ichimaru-taichou in the cloud of dust.

"Ichimaru-taichou!" he shouted into the dust, "Ichimaru-taichou!"

"What do you think you're doing?" a familiar voice made itself known behind him, "didn't I tell you to get going?"

Turning, he saw Gin standing behind him completely unscathed, Hisagi breathed a sigh of relief then almost laughed at himself. A captain getting crushed by a falling gate, how absurd he must have been, crazy to think that someone like Ichimaru Gin would be…

Suddenly Hisagi felt as if the world had suddenly gone red: a weight like he had never known settled upon his shoulders - he even had trouble standing and a fear like he had never before thought possible struck at the very core of his being. Suddenly, for some strange reason, Hisagi did not want to look behind where he was standing.

_Move,_ Hisagi commanded his limbs. Nothing. _Move, _again nothing, _move, damnit, move - I have to move, I have to get out of here!_

Hisagi realized with growing horror that his limbs truly could not move.

Suddenly, a powerful hand descended on his shoulder and Hisagi watched in terror as Ichimaru's eyes widened in apprehension and even a little bit of fear.

Suddenly there was a breath close to his ear that told him whatever was causing this fear had brought himself close to his neck.

"I think you should do as your captain tells you… boy," a cold beyond reason voice echoed through Hisagi's consciousness and he chanced a look down at the gloved hand that held his shoulder; his eyes widened as he saw the ends of white fingers poking from the end of the fingerless gloves, "I do not give second chances often… Go." It was him - the 80th killer.

Just like that, Hisagi ran and Shunpoed away from that awful pressure that made him want to commit seppuku just to get away from it. Tears of humiliation and shame streamed down his face: he had been blindsided when he had been given a direct order to move and he had delayed. Hisagi hung his head as he flew toward headquarters, his captain would not be pleased. But there was a job to do; personal penance and punishment for freezing up could come later.

Ichimaru Gin never thought he would be faced with someone whose presence rivaled Aizen's for raw power. He chanced a glance at his hand, it was shaking. _My hand's shaking? Hmm... once again, WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING HERE! Oh, yeah, I'm supposed to be a captain and that means dying in the line of duty and all that stuff._

"How long do you plan on daydreaming, Ichimaru Gin?" Gin's eyebrows rose.

"You know me?" he questioned stalling for time.

Kratos turned to fully face the fox-faced captain, "no, I would have remembered and probably killed someone with such a treacherous look."

"Now, that isn't very nice," Gin said, quickly sliding back into the stance he had used against Ichigo and Jidanbo. Gin knew his technique wouldn't kill Kratos: he just needed to put some space between himself and his enemy so he could think, so he could plan at the very least and if worse came to worst, figure out a way to escape from this monster in human form.

"Shoot to Kill, Shinsou!" Gin shouted.

It might have been that his senses were still affected by the amount of reiatsu Kratos was giving off, but Kratos saw his technique coming from the very first moment Gin had moved. Kratos waited until the blade was almost to him before putting sliding one foot back and putting his armored left arm in the path of the oncoming blade.

Gin was shocked when instead of piercing the armor Shinsou stopped dead. This had an unintended consequence of shooting him backwards as his blade continued to extend. Kratos grabbed the blade and yanked only for it to dissolve into dust in his hand. Kratos watched as the Gin waved to him from the distance he had been thrown, "Sorry, Kratos-san, but I can't play with you today," he said as he took off into the air.

Suddenly there was a spike of reiatsu behind him and Gin looked backward. He instantly wished he hadn't. He could see an arching, hissing, yellow colored…was that a lightning bolt in Kratos' hand? Gin's eyes widened as Kratos smirked, "I hope you can run as fast as your mouth can leak, Ichimaru Gin." Kratos arched his back and cast the lightning bolt.

A scientific fact: lightning from the sky can flash at about 1/1000 of a second. Unfortunately for Gin, although Kratos' wasn't that fast, it was fast enough that he had absolutely no time to dodge and was struck dead in the middle of his back.

Kratos watched as the body of the unconscious captain fell to earth like a broken doll. The man wasn't dead and would probably survive but it would send a message. The God of War had come! Soul Society… prepare yourself.

Unfortunately for the rest of the members of Hisagi's platoon, the Captains were all together in a meeting so none of them were able to find their respective targets to deliver the message.

While Kratos was facing down Ichimaru Gin, the Captains were waiting impatiently for said captain to discuss strategies to deal with said God of War.

"Strange," Aizen suddenly spoke out, "it isn't like young Ichimaru to be this late."

"Damnit, where the hell is that idiot?" Kenpachi growled, "if he doesn't get here soon…"

"Oh, pipe down, will you?" Mayuri rubbed the side of his head that was facing Kenpachi, "it's too early for you to be giving me a headache!"

"What was that?" Kenpachi said in a threatening voice.

"Not this again..." Toushiro Hitsugaya rolled his eyes, "old people and their arguing"

"Well, what do ya know, tempers are running high today," the flamboyant 8th squad captain said jovially.

"Can we at least have a proper meeting for once," Soi Fon grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

The bickering went on for a few minutes until Yamamato flared a portion of his reiatsu that he normally kept hidden, the arguments were quickly resolved.

Suddenly, all the captains present heard a slight disturbance outside along with someone running towards the meeting hall. A few captains put their hands to weapons, "hey, what the where do you think you're going!" "hey, a captains' meeting is about to start, you can't go in there!"

Abruptly the doors burst open and there stood Hisagi Shuhei, Lieutenant of the 9th divison, panting heavily; his face was red and everything about him spoke of exhaustion.

"Hisagi," Tosen said, as shocked as everyone else.

"Taichou," Hisagi collapsed to both knees and finally to the floor. This snapped the captains out of their shock and normalcy was restored.

"What is the meaning of this, Hisagi-fukotaichou," Yamamoto rose from his seat as the 9th squad captain turned his lieutenant over.

Unohana had instantly gone to the side of the lieutenant, placing glowing green hands over him.

Her eyes snapped open a moment later, "the poor boy is exhausted."

"Taichou," Hisagi was able to gasp out in a halting voice, "Hisagi, stay with me." Tosen held his lieutenant's face in both hands.

"A-a-attack… at… white… gate… *cough*, *cough*… Ichimaru-taichou… needs help."

"Hisagi, you're not making sense," Tosen tried to keep his lieutenant conscious for a few more moments though a feeling of dread descended on all the captains present.

Suddenly, alarms began blaring all over Soul Society, "**Red Alert! Red Alert! Attention, all Soul Reapers! Attention, all Soul Reapers! We are under attack, repeat - we are under attack! The Gate of the White Souls has fallen, repeat - the Gate of the white Souls has fallen!" **

Well, that's it for now. Please read and review, constructive criticism only!

Anyway, I know that Kratos only had the lightning bolts during the first GoW game, but I'm writing under the hypothesis that he had regained all the spells he had learned throughout the games as he arrived at Soul Society; after all, Zeus represents one of his Zanpakutou and he'd want his wielder to have a signiature move of his, right?


End file.
